Shades of Gray
by Cheshire's Mayhem
Summary: Green met gold. She grinned and he cursed; then they were off like a shot, innocence clutched in her fist. She could hear him thundering after her. Searching for her layabout master had never been so much fun, Rhea decided, even if Allen disagrees but that could just be because it means seeing their master again. Or maybe because he doesn't have a Noah to play with.
1. A New Hand is Dealt

**Disclaimer: -man does not belong to me. Only Katsura Hoshino could rip our hearts out so efficiently. I only hope I can make her proud with this story. This story is my property and any person, thing, or events that are similar to anything is pure coincidence. I only own Rhea, her golem, and any other characters I have created for this story. Please apply this disclaimer to all chapters as I don't wish to keep writing this. It's a pain. XD Enjoy the story!**

* * *

"Normal is an illusion. What is normal to the spider is chaos for the fly."

― Morticia Addams

* * *

A shrill cry echoed through the fog. It was not the cry of a child nor that of an animal. Figures moved through the mist, a few stragglers wandering through the mostly deserted streets were completely ignorant of the impending danger. Another piercing shriek reverberated through, bouncing off the walls and the people themselves. A pair of women walked together paused.

"Did you hear that?" One asked the other. The second woman pushed some of her blonde hair away from her eyes.

"Hear what?" The first woman looked around. The mist was too dense to really see anything.

"I must be imagining things."

"You've been with those mining men for too long. The fumes are getting to you." The second one shook her head at her friend. "Let's call it a night. We've had plenty of customers. This mist is freaking me out."

"Yeah me too." The pair paused to stare at the man that was slowly shuffling towards them. The blonde took a deep breath and started towards him.

"I'm sorry Sir, but we're not doing any more business tonight. Come back tomorrow. The man ignored her. "Sir did you hear me? I said we aren't doing anymore business tonight." The man began to shake causing the two woman to step back and away from him.

"I think he's sick." The words had no sooner left her mouth before the man's skin split open and a humongous monstrosity exploded out of him. The used skin crumpling to the ground like a wet newspaper with a squelch. Both women screamed and took off running, their skirts clutched in their white knuckles. They struggled to get away through the throng of other people running away. The numerous guns that lined the beast began firing. All around them people began to disintegrate into dust as soon as they were hit. The two women screamed as the man right next to them in the bowler hat was struck. Stars spread across his skin before it darkened and then he was gone. The blonde screamed and tripped over the back of her skirt as she tried to backpedal away from where the body should have dropped. As the brunette tried to pull her up another figure flew by.

"Hey! You're going the wrong way!" The figure ignored them, running straight at the demon. Black liquid slid out from under the sleeves of the strange jacket the person was wearing.

"Miss! You need to go!" A man wearing a long tan jacket with some bizarre metal pack on his back pulled her to her feet. "Please get to safety!" He urged her, gently pushing her towards her friend and away from the battle. Ducking behind a building the blonde couldn't help but stop and watch the fight. The figure, which she could now see was a woman, leapt at the monster. The black liquid solidified into a long whip. The monster let out a high pitched screech as the whip left a long gash in the armor of the creature. The whip snapped against the cobblestones shattering it before the woman hopped around the thing, avoiding bullets longer than her arm. They rained down but the stranger danced out of the way, fancy gymnastic moves thrown in all the while looking completely effortless. The whip wrapped around the monstrosity several times before pulling taut. It screamed as the coil tightened before it exploded. Pieces of metal showered the road and the whip disappeared. The man in the tan jacket ran up.

"Are you injured Lady Exorcist?" The hooded figure turned their head towards the man.

"No, I'm fine. Did you manage to clear the civilians?" Her voice was low and smokey. Almost what she would expect a siren from Greek mythology to sound like.

"Yes but we must hurry, Lady Exorcist, or we'll miss our train!"

"Yes, yes. Let's go." The peculiar pair vanished before the blonde woman could even call out to them.

"Lady Exorcist! This way!" The finder yelled as he darted left, leading the way towards the bridge that the train would pass under any minute. The train whistle blew signaling it's proximity. They jumped, landing on the roof. "We need to get inside before it gets to the tunnel." He shouted, trying to be heard over the wind. The woman nodded and they dropped down through the train roof and into the safety of the car. A train attendant rushed over to them.

"I'm sorry but you can't be here," he paused for a moment, "actually how did you even get up there?" His brown eyes filled with confusion as he stared at the pair.

"We jumped from the bridge." It was the woman who answered him.

"But that could have killed you-" He trailed off before shaking his head, " Regardless of how you got on you can't be here. This is first class-" The finder cut him off.

"We're with the Black Order. Please prepare a cabin." At those words his eyes found the rose crest on the jacket the woman was wearing.

"You're with the church?" The finder sighed at the man's stuttered words.

"Yes, we're with the Black Order." His eyes darted from the train attendant to the silent exorcist. She didn't make a move or even a sound of annoyance. "Now about that cabin?"

"My deepest apologies. I'll arrange one immediately!" The man bowed and ran off.

"I'll be right out here if you need me, Lady Exorcist." The finder hadn't even closed the door when she called out to him.

"Fredrick, come, join me." He stepped into the room.

"Lady Ex-"

"And another thing," she cut him off, "you can call me Rhea. It's my name after all." She pushed the hood down, allowing her long twin fishtail braids to fall free. "It's a long ride and I highly doubt you are such bad company. So please, have a seat." She motioned to the plush seat across from the one she was sprawled out over, one leg crossed over the other. Reluctantly, the man took a seat.

"Thank you very much Lady Ex-" he stopped remembering what she had just said, "Lady Rhea." She sighed at his correction.

"I suppose that will do for now." She shrugged.

"You're an exorcist. You deserve respect!" He argued. She laughed, and shook her head.

"No more than you."

"I don't fight monsters, you do."

"They're not monsters. Lost souls taken advantaged of. Nothing more." The finder shifted uncomfortably. He had worked with exorcists with far worse opinions and quirks, still she was a strange girl to be sure.

"How did the mission go?" She looked up at him from her nails which she had been filing. He winced, wondering if he hadn't been supposed to speak.

"It went well." She answered him easily, obviously not caring that he had spoken out of turn. "There were some akuma but not enough that anybody should be worried about. I procured the innocence with ease. It was almost boring." She put her file back in the pouch which she had pulled it from and rested her head in her hand. "Things have been rather dull lately."

"Isn't that a good thing?" He stuttered, confusion evident in his brown eyes. She examined them for a minute, noting the darker ring of brown around the edge of his eye and the flecks of lighter brown around the pupil. They were certainly nice to look at, but the man as a whole did little for her. He seemed too timid to her. Or maybe she was too forward? Or perhaps strong willed?

Yeah," she sighed though she offered a lazy if not tired smile, "probably." If she was going to say anything else it was cut off by the cabin door sliding open. It hit the edge of the runner with a thunk. Both pairs of eyes turned to the man standing in the now open doorway. Fredrick stood up immediately.

"I'm sorry Sir, but you can't be here. This room is reserved. You'll have to find another one. I'm sure one of the train attendants can help you with that."

"Ex-ex-exor-cist." The man hissed staggering forward on unsteady legs.

"Sir, did you hear me?"

"Fredrick, get down." As soon as the words left the exorcist's mouth the finder hit the floor as the akuma exploded out of it's skin.

"Exorcist!" The akuma shrieked as it lunged for her, guns ready to fire.

"Activate!" A cloud of black smoke drifted from her jacket and enveloped the akuma. It screamed and flailed around as the smoke burned through it before it exploded.

"Thank you for saving me." Fredrick looked up but the exorcist only shook her head.

"Don't thank me yet. There are still more. Stay here. Tell the attendants to keep people calm, I'll deal with them." She bolted out the door, pausing to look at the people lurching towards her. All had sunken eyes, dark bags beneath them, and saggy pale skin. They looked horrendous. Her nose wrinkled at the sight of them. She whistled to get their attention, "This way dummies!" The akuma shed their skin, leaving it lying around on the ground as they chased after her. Flinging herself out the window she climbed up to the roof of the train car as it hurtled down the tracks. The akuma surrounded her. "Well I guess it's time to dance, ya eedjits." She grinned, as her innocence shot out, spearing through the first one. The one on her left fired a barrage of bullets. Rhea sprang backwards out of the way, landing on her hands and then feet again. "Well that wasn't nice." The akuma didn't answer her. "Well, at least you're quiet." She sighed dodging another group of bullets, swinging this way and that, backing away as she went. She glanced over her shoulder, the tunnel was getting closer and closer. "Oh shite." She stepped back, her foot slipping on the ice that had congealed on the roof. She yelped as she fell backwards, her head hitting the metal hard. She groaned and swung out of the way, her innocence wrapping around her boots. Rolling back onto her hands she kicked her feet through the akuma's head. She turned to the last one only to see more akuma clambering out of the window. "Oh come on!" The whistle blew loudly. She covered her ears with her hands. Whirling around she saw the tunnel was right on top of her. Muttering a long string of curses in the tongue of her birthplace under her breathe she jumped off the train and ran. Her boots thundered against the top of the tunnel. The station wasn't much farther after the underpass. She needed to tie this up. The innocence dissipated into smoke as she landed on the train once more and rushed forward consuming the akuma as the train skid to a stop. She lurched and staggered trying to keep her balance. She tumbled off the top of the train, just barely able to catch herself before she crashed to the ground.

"Lady Rhea! Are you okay?" Fredrick came rushing over carrying her messenger bag. He grabbed her elbow and gently pulled her up to her feet.

"Yes," she took the time to dust herself off, "I'm just clumsy." She sighed. "That took far longer than it should have. I must be losing my touch."

"You saved them and me."

"It's really not a big deal. Let's head out." He nodded at her words and led the way.

* * *

"Hey! Rhea! You're home!" Said girl looked up to see Johnny and Reever, the former was waving excitedly using his whole are though it had been Reever who had called out to her.

"Hey guys. What's up?" She smiled tiredly still rubbing her sore limbs. The tumble from the train hadn't been pleasant.

"Nothing much, really. Been pretty quiet, well as quiet as it can get here." Reever shrugged.

"We got a new exorcist. He's nice." Johnny was practically bouncing in his excitement.

"That's good. Is Komui in?" Both raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to give him your report?" Reever asked. "It's a bit early for you isn't it?"

"Yeah normally you never give your report without somebody chasing you down." Johnny added on.

"Ha ha ha ha. Very funny." The girl shook her head, "But no, I'm gonna kill him for sending me on a three week long mission with no places for sleep and no translator. Not to mention there was more than 3 feet of snow." Both men gulped and pointed at his office having no problem with throwing their supervisor under the bus or in front of the irate girl. "Thanks." She stalked away.

"Do you think the Supervisor will be okay?" Johnny asked looking up at Reever who just shrugged.

"I honestly don't know. Maybe if he grovels. Though Lenalee might save him." Reever seemed to be comparing the girls in his head. "She might be able to stop Rhea."

"Should we go warn her?"

"Probably best." The two rushed off.

Not bothering to knock at all, Rhea simply kicked the door open. Komui jumped as the door slammed against the wall.

"Rhea, you're back! Why did you kick my door in? You're going to break it if you keep doing that." He pouted at her while she continued to glare balefully at him. His smile disappeared when he saw the look she was giving him. "What?" He asked. As she started stalking over to him, Komui tried to scramble behind his desk to hide, unfortunately it didn't give much cover. Grabbing the desk she tossed it across the room. It smashed against the wall with a loud bang and splintered into pieces.

"You! You bloody wanker," she growled as she yanked him up by his coat collar to shake him, "if you ever send me somewhere cold like that I will find the Millennium Earl and make Lenalee his bride!"

"Not my precious Lenalee!" He sobbed uncontrollably struggling wildly to get out of her grasp. He clawed and scratched at her gloved hands.

"Brother? What's wrong?" Lenalee asked as she came running into the office. Komui immediately latched onto her, finally having managed to get away from Rhea, and continued to sob, begging her not to get married.

"What's going on?" Rhea turned to look at the owner as a new voice joined the conversation.

"Allen?" She asked eyes widening, surprised evident across her face. He looked over at her. Gray met green. A wide smile broke out on her face and she ran over and hugged him.

"Rey!" He returned the hug. The Chinese siblings looked over at them.

"You two know each other?" Lenalee inquired. Rhea nodded letting go of the boy.

"Allen and I trained together under General Cross. He's my brother in everything but blood. I was sent here earlier. Honestly, I wasn't sure if Allen would survive Master or not." Allen shuddered at the memories causing her to laugh. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that he didn't come with you." Allen shook a little.

"How did you ever guess?" She smiled at him.

"Well that's fine. I prefer you over him anyway."

"You didn't tell me that there was another student with you training under Cross." Komui pouted standing up. He was beginning to feel left out. Rhea glared at him.

"I did! You weren't listening. You were bemoaning the fact that I said I wouldn't protect Lenalee from Lavi and Kanda. Not that she needs it!" She snaps angrily. Pushing her anger away she turned back to Allen. "I'm so glad that you made it here alive. I was beginning to wonder if you died and Master just wasn't going to tell me because then the Black Order would be able to find him."

"No, I'm still alive. Honestly I was so caught up in all that had happened that I forgot to even check to see if you were here. I didn't see you when I first got here and then I got sent on a mission..." He trailed off thinking back to his first mission.

"That's fine, Allen. I was out on a mission anyway. Actually I had two right in a row. I didn't even manage to make it back between them. It sucks but it does happen." Allen nods in understanding. Kanda had been sent straight to another mission from Mater.

"So your missions were a success?" Komui asked interrupting the reunion as he stood up as if he hadn't just been a sobbing mess, slobbering all over his younger sister.

"Yes I procured the innocence and wiped out the akuma. It was hardly a work out. A few more found me and Fredrick on the train but they were easy to take out. Rhaps can show you the recording if you'd like to take a quick gander at it."

"So you have innocence for Hevlaska then?" Lenalee asked turning to lead the way down to Hevlaska's chamber.

"Yeah I grabbed them. Wanna come with me Allen? We have a lot to catch up on." Lenalee gave her a surprised look.

"Them? I thought the first mission was to destroy the akuma accumulating there." Rhea nodded.

"It was. The reason the akuma were there WAS because of a shard of innocence. It wasn't hard to steal. Akuma aren't exactly known for being the brightest. There were only a few level 2 akuma and a bunch of level 1s." Allen gave a low whistle at his sister's words.

"I fought a level 2 in Mater. It was such a pain. You fought several?" He asked. Rhea offered a shrug as she started towards Hevlaska's chambers.

"My innocence is different than yours, different abilities means that there are some things that I do better than you," she failed to notice that her brother was getting paler and paler as she spoke, "however it also means that there are things I can't do for the life of me that you can." The lackadaisical way in which she explained it reminded him of their Master.

"Rey," Allen sounded scared, his voice quacking ever so slightly, "you sounded just like Master right then." Said girl shuddered.

"Well, I won't be doing **that** anymore." Lenalee laughed as the two flinched at the memory of their master until something occurred to her.

"Could I talk to you for a moment, Rey?" Rhea raised an eyebrow questioningly but Lenalee's eyes darted to Allen for a moment before going back to her. "In private?" Rhea made a face of understanding and nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She turned to her brother, "Hey Al," she tossed him a bag which she pulled from the inside of her coat, "could you please bring these down to Hevlaska? I'll meet you there in a few minutes." Allen caught the bag with ease, pausing he opened the bag to peer down at the innocence his sister had collected.

"Sure!" He grinned at her and left, heading down to the chamber.

Rhea turned to Lenalee, "What's up Lena?"

"Well Allen just got here but got sent on a mission almost immediately so we haven't had time to set up his surprise party." Rhea raised a quizzical eyebrow but Lenalee quickly clarified, "his welcome party?" Rhea nodded with a smile and she continued, "It would be such a pity if the surprise was ruined so could you, maybe, please keep him busy for tonight and possibly tomorrow?" Rhea pondered this for a moment.

"Yeah that's easy enough. I doubt we'll go wandering around, probably go to my room and play cards while we chat. The game will most likely be forgotten within 15 minutes. We've got a lot to catch up on. I'll be sure to keep him up late so maybe he'll sleep in a bit later and give you guys more time. Shouldn't take much effort, he's a growing boy after all." She shrugged, stumbling back when Lenalee hugged her.

"You're the best Rey!" Rhea chuckled and patted her friend on the back.

"Yeah, sure. You remember that the next time Komui sends me somewhere cold." Lenalee cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"What's that mean?"

Rhea waved her off, "Oh nothing. Nothing at all. Anyway I'm gonna go catch up with Allen and see Hevlaska before we crack on. Have a good night Lenalee. Good luck with the party planning. See ya in the morning." She offered a lazy halfhearted wave over her shoulder as she left, jogging to catch up with her brother.

"Welcome home, Rhea Blackwood." She smiled up at the woman as she greeted her. Neither her nor Allen had jumped when Rhea had plummeted down the elevator channel. She landed with a thump.

"It's good to be back, Hevlaska." She stood up from her landing position.

"Didn't that hurt, Rey?" Allen asked with an arched eyebrow.

"No, not particularly." She dusted off her pants before walking over.

"I hope your mission went well. Did you have a safe trip?" Hevlaska asked softly, her voice warm and inviting almost like a mother's would be. Blurry memories of a voice of similar sound and tone sprung to her mind. Vague memories of ancient myths for bedtime stories; hushed words in her native tongue. Shaking her head to rid herself of a time long gone she answered.

"It wasn't too bad. Nothing of interest really happened. All in all, it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

Allen glanced over at his sister as she spoke about her mission with Hevlaska. Though she spoke of one thing, her mind was clearly far away. She sounded so wistful. She rarely sounded like that. He wondered if she ever missed her mother. She never spoke of the past, only the future. She rarely spoke of her mother, taken from her by the famine that had plagued her birthplace for years. He watched her hand the innocence over. Hevlaska tucked the two pieces away, where they would be safe.

"Thank you for saving these pieces. They will sleep, safe with me, until their accommodators can be found." The pair waved to her as they left.

"Have a good night Hevlaska." They chorused together. She smiled at them.

"Sleep well." She bid them good night and watched them sorrowfully. She saw pain and sadness in their futures. Danger was inevitable for the pair. Heartbreak and hard decisions were everywhere. Menacing shadows loomed over them. Rhea stood shrouded in the night surrounded by dark crosses. It left her feeling uneasy. For now they were safe. Blissfully unaware of their fate, just for this moment. In the morning their life would continue and they would be shipped out on their next mission. Whether they came back or not was up to them and the strength of their hearts. "I see your future and it is dark and cold. Nothing will be what it seems and you will be all alone. Have faith in each other and never let anything stray you from your path. You heart knows best. Be safe; life is never easy for those who dare to dream but you are creating a better future for others."

* * *

The peace of the night was shattered by alarms going off everywhere. Flashing red lights and blaring sirens woke them all. Rhea yelped as she fell out of bed and onto the floor with a painful thump. Through the wall she heard Allen do a similar thing. When the meaning of the horns going off finally registered in her head she groaned and grabbed her jacket as she rushed out.

"Rey!" Allen rushed out of his room, dragging his coat with him. "Rey, what's going on?!" He shouted to be heard over the alarm.

"Akuma!" Rhea responded, jerking her head for him to follow, as she ran down the corridor. Lenalee met up with them.

"Akuma? Here?!" Allen cried.

"No," Lenalee corrected as she led the way, "there's no way they could get in here. It means that they're close though, not here, but it's close enough that we need to exterminate them so they don't find us." She finished explaining as they skid to a stop as Komui came into their view. "Komui! What's going on?"

"Akuma have swarmed the neighboring town. It appears that they've followed a returning exorcist back. He's fighting them now but has radioed in for help. You three are being dispatched to help him. Go now!"

The three nodded seriously, "Right!" Not bothering to salute him they ran off, towards the main gate, their boots pounding against the floor as they thundered through, not bothering to worry about waking the other sleeping occupants of the Order. They leapt from the top of the cliff, hurtling towards the akuma at high speed. All three landed on different akuma.

"About time you showed up!" The only other exorcist there jumped over towards them.

"You can bitch later!" Rhea shouted at him.

"Innocence activate! The three shouted together. The light of Lenalee and Allen's invocation shone brightly. Rhea's innocence slid from her arms silently. The mist surrounded the akuma she currently stood on. It shook, trying to get away from the mist burning through it's armor. Another akuma turned towards her, all guns aimed directly at her. She backed away, one boot slid off the edge of the akuma.

"Rey!" Lenalee bounded over, grabbing her as she flew by.

"Thanks Lena!" She landed on her feet on the roof of the nearest building. Lenalee waved and immediately turned, kicked through another akuma. "Harlequin!" The innocence reformed, moving like liquid, spearing through several akuma as it shot over to her. She glanced around, eyes searching for Allen. She found him in a corner, tearing through the level one akuma like butter with his giant claw working his way towards the center. Lenalee was cleaning up the other corner moving in a similar fashion. In the middle of the fray, of course, was the exorcist who had caused the problem in the first place. His long sword cleaving akuma in two with ease. He moved from akuma to akuma effortlessly as if he had been born to do it. "I should probably get back to work too, huh?" Her innocence shifted back into mist and she saw Harlequin's true form for a moment and then it was gone. She smirked. "Shift!" The mist condensed into liquid and then formed a halberd.

"Come down from there silly little exorcist!" Rhea glared down at the scorpion like level 2 that was shrieking at her. Not even bothering with a response she dropped from the roof, halberd raised above her head. She fell upon the akuma splitting it in two vertically. She whirled around on the next level two, coming at her from behind, adjusting her grip as she went. She swung her blade horizontally. Seven level 2 akuma that all looked pretty much the same to her, dog piled on top of her. Rhea pushed back with the handle of Harlequin. Taking in a deep breath, filling her lungs, she shoved back. The akuma flew off. Two were cut into pieces by the long sword. She grinned at him, offering a jaunty salute before dealing with the other akuma, leaving the hulking steaming pieces all over the ground. He smirked back at her before his eyes widened. Flipping his sword he hurled it towards her, using his shield to defend against the akuma in front of him. The sword whizzed over her head and straight between the seven eyes of the akuma sneaking up on her. She didn't spare it a glance as she yanked the sword free and ran over. Rolling across his back she tossed him the sword back. Rhea hurtled towards Allen, as eight akuma backed him up, further and further towards the wall. He clawed through them as fast as he could but it seemed like for every akuma he got rid of three more took its place.

"Leave my little brother alone!" Her enraged cry drew the akuma's attention.

"Rey!" Allen shouted leaping at the closest one. The halberd melted into a whip crashing through the line of akuma. Another snap of the whip tangle a level one up in it's coils. Allen vaulted over Rhea; his fist going nails first through another level one intent on firing at Rhea. "Please be more careful!" He chided her but she merely grinned back at him.

"I know you've got my back!" She hurled the level one still tied up in her whip at a level two springing at Lenalee's exposed back. Both exploded. Allen sighed at her.

"Rhea! Above you!" The other exorcist bellowed causing the siblings to look up. High in the sky directly above their heads a group of level ones prepared to fire. Bright purple light building at the end of the cannons. "Move!" The order came too late. Allen tackled his sister to the ground, using his own body as a shield for hers.

"Allen, no!" Rhea wasn't heard over the roar of the bullets as they rained down. Allen looked up, feeling no pain despite hearing the bullets hit something. The other exorcist stood over them, shield raising over his head though he struggled to push the bullets back.

"You're impressive kid. I'll give you that." He grunted out, tossing the bullets to the side. He huffed as he dropped the shield, letting it and his arms hang by his side. "Not many people, not even exorcists, would jump in front of somebody else like that." Allen made a face at him.

"I can purify the virus with my parasitic innocence, besides," Allen wrinkled his nose at the man, "she's my sister." The man grinned at him and offered a hand. Allen let himself be pulled back to his feet.

"Waltz: Mist Winds!" Lenalee's whirlwind attack destroyed the akuma preparing to fire again. "Are you guys okay?!" She shouted landing on a nearby rooftop.

"We're fine, new recruit's got guts!" The large man laughed as Allen helped Rhea to her feet.

"Let's hurry up and finish this." Rhea grumbled brushing the dirt from her boots and pants, already glaring at her brother. He winced, knowing that they were going to be having a **talk **later and he doubted it would be fun. He was in trouble, she was pissed!

"Anybody got something that will get rid of these aresholes all at once?" The man asked, glaring at the akuma that still covered the sky.

"I can if you guys wanna drive them towards the moon." Rhea spoke up. The other three nodded.

"Right!" Splitting up the three start herding the akuma into the center of the sky. Taking a deep breath, Rhea sent her innocence hurtling into the air. Like spilled ink, it spread across the heavens until the moon and stars were hidden away, as if they had never been there before.

"Waltz: Mist Winds!" Lenalee sent more akuma fleeing into Harlequin's embrace. On the other side Allen pushed the pack back.

"Cross Grave!" The bright light shone, illuminating the dark innocence above it. Slowly it began to wrap around, closing in on the akuma, bottle necking it's prey in. Several akuma bolting down for the small opening only to be sheared in half by the great long sword.

"Not happening!" He grinned at them as the liquid innocence sealed up. Taking a deep breath, Rhea let it settle in her chest for a moment, her hand hung in the air before her eyes snapped open and she clenched her fist. With the silent order given Harlequin crushed the akuma. A loud shrieking squeal permeated the air for a moment and then the akuma were dead. A level two dove for Rhea's open back only for Lenalee to drop out of the sky like a meteor, straight onto it's head. Allen shredded the last level two and silence fell over them. Sighing with relief the four exorcists allowed their innocence to deactivate.

"Well," Rhea broke the silence, "that was a thing." The others groaned but she just laughed.

"Sorry about that, my name is Zahari Macedonski." The man held out his hand for Allen to shake but the boy just looked at him bewildered in how to pronounce his name.

"Zack," Rhea chided. The newly named exorcist laughed.

"But you can call me Zack." He finished. Allen finally took his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. My name's Allen."

"I've heard a lot about you." Zack spoke though he was shooting Rhea a look.

"Good things I hope?" Allen asked nervously.

"Oh yes. Rey doesn't stop talking about you. Her little brother is just so wonderful. Absolutely perfect! He can't do anything wrong! There's nobody in the world that's as good as him." Zack did his best to imitate how the girl had sounded but it wasn't working too well. "I was beginning to think that you were a figment of her imagination. Didn't think anybody could be that perfect." Zack chortled elbowing Rhea in the ribs with his free arm as he spoke. She stuck her tongue out at him at his jest. "You've got a good handshake though."

"I'm not perfect by any means." Allen assured him easily, allowing his hand to drop back to his side. They all started back towards the Order.

"I don't think anybody is but at least you are real."

Rhea interrupted the conversation, "You really though I was making him up?! Zack you are such a giant dick!" Zack only laughed until she launched herself at him. He ducked through she landed on her feet, skid, turned and lunged again. Zack ran for his life with Rhea thundering after him. Allen and Lenalee followed at a more sedated pace, content to watch the two horse around.

"Are they always like this?" Allen asked jerking his thumb in the direction of the pair. Rhea was still chasing Zack though now she was throwing things too. Things that they would, no doubt, have to pay for. Allen only hoped that he and his sister wouldn't have to pay for it personally. They had enough debt to deal with from their horrible layabout master.

"Yeah Zack's pretty good at keeping Rey occupied. She hasn't gotten too bored. She got bored once, early on, when she first got to the Order, and we'll never do that again." Lenalee shuddered at the memory of the chaos the girl had unleashed upon deciding that nothing interesting was happening. "Zack seems to have Rey's brand of crazy so they get along great. She's also good friends with Daisya," she paused for a moment to think, "much to the chagrin of Kanda." Allen snorted at that. He was okay with that. "You'll meet him later." Lenalee reassured him easily.

"If he bothers Kanda then he's good in my books." Lenalee laughed lightly, her giggle like bells, at his comment.

"It's not just Daisya, though he tends to annoy Kanda too, but when you put Rhea and Daisya together they usually cause trouble usually at the expense of Kanda." She explained, her eyes darting over to gauge his reaction. Though he seemed sweet Kanda somehow managed to bring out a darker side in him. She had also yet to see the siblings together. After visiting Hevlaska the pair had disappeared to Rey's room. Neither had been seen till the alarm went off. Rey seemed to give up chasing Zack who had gotten a way away from her. She chucked one last rock before rounding back to them.

"Giving up Rey?" Allen asked arching an eyebrow at her. She shot him a smirk in return.

"Now Allen, when have you ever known me to give up?"

"Never!" He grinned. She was up to something. He could see it in her smile and in her eyes. They glittered the way they did when she was plotting, like the last time when she had poured a homemade truth serum into their Master's wine. Too bad neither of them had expected him to spill the secrets of his sexual exploits instead of war stories and battle abilities. Cross hadn't bothered to punish them because they were already so traumatized by the entire experience all in of itself. Come to think of it, he thought, glancing at his sister, that was about the time Master decided that Rhea was ready for the Order but said that I still needed another year or so of training at least. He was distracted by Lenalee laughing at something Rey said.

"Will you guys hurry up? Zack shouted back at them, waving them over to where he stood. "You'd swear that you three had been on a six week mission and not me." Rey kicked a rock, with extreme precision, at him. The rock hit him in the knee and he yelped. "Rey! That's not nice!"

She cocked one hip out in response with her arms crossed over her chest, "Since when am I nice?"

"You're nice to me." Allen piped up causing Zack to pout at her.

"Why are you nice to him but cruel to me?" He was practically whining now.

"He's my little brother. You're not." She tapped a black painted nail to her bottom lip thoughtfully, "He's also a lot cuter than you." Rhea winked as Zack exclaimed loudly, wailing grief, staggering back as if he had been shoved or physically struck, hands clutching at his chest. Allen felt his face heat up.

"Rey!" She ignored his hiss, laughing the whole way back. The others were surprised that they hadn't managed to wake the entire neighborhood.

Komui met them at the gate as they trudged in, limbs aching, "Good job! Excellent work!" He paused in his praising to hug Lenalee in a death grip and then to cry about her missing important beauty sleep.

"So what you're sayin'" Rhea drawled watching the display with a look of disgust, "is that she isn't pretty enough on her own and thus needs 'beauty sleep' to make her more beautiful?" Komui gasped shrilly. Rhea immediately covered her ears at the loud noise, trying to drown out Komui's tirade about Lenalee, her beauty, and cuteness. She noticed Allen doing the same while Lenalee's face burned. They tried to inch away from him but he merely moved alone with them. Finally Rhea had enough, "Look! A boy trying to kiss Lenalee!" Komui whirled around to where she pointed with rage only to find Lenalee standing alone.

"Hey! There's no boy," he trailed off as he turned back around to find that the siblings had vanished. "That's not nice." He pouted. "I was in the middle of talking."

Allen stumbled a bit, trying to keep pace as his sister dragged him down the hall full on running. "Rey slow down! One of us is going to trip!" She darted around a sharp corner almost crashing into Kanda though she didn't bother slowing down.

"Watch it woman!" Kanda demanded, staggering as he tried to regain his balance, but she only shot him a devious smirk in response. "Oi! Are you even listening to me?! Woman!"

"Not really!" The siblings shouted together, Allen taking the time to shoot an evil smile over his shoulder at Kanda. He could forgive his sister for running Kanda over. He understood the feeling of wanting to. Just a few doors down, right next to his he noted, Rhea paused long enough to unlock the door before dragging him in.

"That! We'll be safe in here from the lunatic," she paused, "for now anyway." Allen shook his head at his sister.

"You know this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't instigated him." She merely shrugged at his point.

"I didn't do it on purpose," she pouted at him, jutting out her bottom lip, "it just kinda slipped out." Allen sighed fondly.

"That tends to happen a lot." She smiled at him brightly and they settled down on the bed. Timcampy nuzzled up to Rhaps, the pair snoozing on one of the many pillows that covered Rhea's nest like bed. Allen was pretty sure his sister was part owl or maybe dragon. How she ever used all the pillows he didn't know. He glanced around the room. It wasn't big but it probably seemed smaller than his because it was cluttered. Her desk was overrun with mechanical pieces and tools. Half finished creatures and projects. Drawn designs and blueprints were pinned to the walls. He could also spot a basket with what looked to be an assortment of shiny things that were probably not hers. "I see your hobbies haven't changed much." He nodded to her desk and the basket.

"Yeah, it's easier now that we aren't moving around all the time. I do have to wonder how many times did I leave a half finished project lying around because Master pulled us out after the bill got too high or we got run out of town."

"Countless, no doubt." Allen answered with a laugh. He paused, allowing his eyes to dart to Rey. "So," he started drawing out the word, trying to sound as casual as possible, "you seem pretty close to Zack." Her eyes met his as she arched an eyebrow in response.

"Yeah, Zack's a good friend." Rey watched her brother carefully contemplating where he was going with this.

"How long have you known him?"

"About a year, just like everybody else at the Order." She shot him a look, signifying how silly she thought his question was.

"Do you like him?"

"I just said he's a good friend. What part of that did you miss?" Allen made a face, wrinkling his nose at her.

"I'm just asking. He wasn't here when I first came so I don't know anything about him." His sister narrowed her eyes and leaned closer. Knowing she was onto him Allen looked away, scooting further down the bed as subtly as he could. If it were anybody else they wouldn't have noticed but she knew him too well. Slowly a smile spread across her face. A smile that he didn't like.

"We're just friends Allen. Nothing more." His face scrunched up as she got straight to the point.

"Rey, I didn't ask that." He pouted but she just laughed at him.

"No," she agreed jaunty her smile spreading into an impish grin, "but it's what you were getting at." He scowled at her.

"I hate that you know me so well." Rey laughed at him some more.

"Well I should, I'm your older sister. It's my job." He wrinkled his nose but sighed knowing he wouldn't win the argument.

"Yeah, okay."

"So," she drawled, "how did Master ditch you?" Allen grimaced and rubbed the back of his head at the mere memory of it. His sister's grin only grew to the point where he wondered if she really was the Cheshire Cat. "Well?"

"He hit me with a hammer. It hurt. A lot."

"Yeah that sounds like Master. Whoever decided to give him kids was out of their bloody mind." Rhea spoke easily. "Does it still hurt?" She asked as he continued to rub the back of his head.

"I can't tell. I've taken several hits to the head since I got here and even before I got here but after Master hit me. I met this kid. John, his father works here. Russell I think." She nodded.

"Yeah Russell did say he had a son. So what happened with him?"

"Well John got into his work papers. He knows about the Earl and akuma. He spends his days patrolling with his friend Leo. Unfortunately Leo's mother died." From the look on her face Allen already knew that she already knew what had happened next. "Regrettably in his attempt to help warn people about the Earl and akuma he actually gained the attention of the Earl."

"Boys and their big mouths." Rey rolled her eyes but elbowed him jokingly.

"I tried to get him to stop but he wouldn't listen to me. The Earl turned Leo into an akuma and he went after John. I got there in time. Faced the Earl. Funnily enough he remembers me."

"I'm not so sure that's a good thing." She pointed out.

"Yeah probably not. Anyway I saved John and convinced him to not make a spectacle of himself and draw the Earl's ire. He agreed but I got shot a lot protecting him from Leo who tried to shoot him at point blank range."

"So basically what you're saying is that you've had so many head injuries that you probably have at least a concussion, if not brain damage," she glared at him, "but don't even know if because you're completely numb or perhaps your head is just too damn thick?" Rey slapped a hand to her face as her brother nodded sheepishly. "What am I gonna do with you?" She sighed dragging her hand down.

"Feed me?" He said hopefully. She rolled her eyes.

"Sure. Everybody else should be asleep so we can go on a late night snack fest. What's one more break in?" Allen snorted at her.

"Still a criminal, huh?" She scowled at him as they crept through the halls.

"You cheat at poker so you're basically stealing."

"Low blow." He hissed back, as she picked the lock on the kitchen. Both paused to wonder if Jeryy really thought this would keep them out. As they raided the kitchen Allen glanced over at his sister. So far she had seven bags of assorted chocolates and 12 packages of cookies. "Are you gonna eat all of those?"

"Not tonight but if I keep them in my room then I'm less likely to get caught coming back down here. Now let's scram while we still can." He nodded while noticing that she grabbed the coffee pot on her way by.

"Rey," he paused to consider if he actually wanted to know and then continued, "how much of that stuff do you drink?"

"Not much." She answered vaguely and he knew she was lying.

He sighed, "I see you still don't take very good care of yourself." She snorted in response.

"That's rich coming from you. You're worse than me."

It was in the early hours of the morning when the siblings parted ways. Allen slipped into his room, a sleeping Tim on his shoulder almost falling off every time the little golem nodded off. Rhea also headed to her room though she left again almost immediately, waiting just long enough for Allen to lay down and go to sleep. Creeping silently down the hall she snuck into another room. A boy lay in the bed sleeping peacefully. Gently she shook him awake. He sat bolt up.

"Who? What? Where?!"

"Hush!" She slapped her hand over his mouth. He looked up at her with dark eyes, confusion evident in them for a moment before he finally woke up a bit more and recognized her. "Rey, what are you doing here?"

"Kanda's back from his mission. Feel up to a prank?" A grin spread across his face.

"Hell yeah!"

"Daisya! Be quiet!" She hissed at him.

"Whoops. I mean hell yeah." He whispered it this time. Leaping out of his bed Rey turned away. "What?" He questioned at her movement.

"Daisya, clothing." He laughed nervously, after a few moments remembering that he had fallen asleep in his underwear.

"So what did you have in mind?" Daisya asked as he dressed.

"A few things. We'll start with you painting Mugan pink." Daisya grinned as they snuck out of his room. Kanda's room wasn't that far away and he never locked it. Nobody was dumb enough to break in. Or so he thought. Rhea was quick to make sure the door didn't creak, as she knew it normally did. Quickly muttering something under her breath that Daisya didn't even notice, something she had done countless times. She quickly handed the sword to Daisya. He raised an eyebrow as she leaned over Kanda once more; when she pulled away Kanda's face was covered in horribly done makeup that looked like it had been done by a five year old. His long hair, braided into intricate patterns tangled up in the headboard of his bed. "That should keep him busy for a while. Grab his underwear." Daisya turned to her.

"How many pairs?"

"All of it."

"Okay."

"Let's see, what else?" Kanda shifted, his hair pulling taut causing the intruders to freeze.

"Rey," he hissed to her, "maybe we should get out of here while we still can."

She nodded, "Good idea." Grabbing his left shoe on her way out she did one last thing. Pulling out some thin clear plastic she stretched it across the door before closing it gently, once again concentrating on making it silent.

* * *

Rhea woke to a loud rage filled scream similar to a lion in pain permeating the peaceful silence of the early morning. Rhaps, who had been startled by it, shot up before crashing back into her mistress' head. The girl rubbed the newly forming bruise gingerly. She waited for a moment and when she didn't hear a cry of pain she rolled over and went back to sleep. It was probably the science department, she swore those guys didn't sleep. It was too early for this. She hadn't gotten to bed until late. Whoever it was, they were probably fine. And even if they weren't she probably didn't care. It hadn't been Allen, Lena, Daisya, or Lavi or anyone else she was particularly close to. It also wasn't deep enough to be Zack, thus it was not important to her. The sun shone into her room but she just yanked the heavy quilt up over her body and covered her head with one of her many pillows. It's what they were there for. Rhaps settled back down on her own special pillow.

"Whoever did this is going to die!" The voice rang out.

"Ah, Kanda." She told Rhaps as she rolled over, turning her back on the sun.

"I'm serious!"

"I hope he stops soon." Rey yawned, silent willing Kanda to shut up. She sighed happily when he did. She was almost asleep again when she heard a knock on her wall. "Nobody's home." She whined, hoping that they would go away.

"Rey?" Allen asked a bit confused at his sister's reply.

"Allen, it's too early for this."

Why's he screaming?"

"Not a clue."

"Do you think he's okay?"

"Can't you just relish in his pain? There was a moment of silence. "Besides doesn't he call you Beansprout?" She could practically hear Allen fuming.

"You're right!" She snickered a bit and closed her eyes again. She could hear Allen start his morning workout routine but it was NOT morning to her. Lenalee could keep Allen occupied for a few hours if the party wasn't ready yet. Or he could get lost. That would work too. They could just go find him later if he did.

"Who has my other boot?!" Kanda roared once more. Rhea snuggled deeper into her pillow and blankets trying to regain her lost warmth. Everything would be fine...probably. Another loud crash shattered the peace just as she was drifting off.

"Oh come on! Would everybody just shut up?!" She demanded sitting back up.

"Rey, that's not nice." Allen chided through the wall as she got up.

"I don't care." She stalked over to his room. "I'm trying to sleep!"

"Rey," Allen leaned against the door frame, "I know we were up late but still, you can't sleep all day." She turned to glare at him.

"Al, the sun is barely rising. It hasn't been all day. Besides, I had a few things to take care of last night. I was up for a few more hours after you I need sleep too ya know. I am, sorta, human." Allen shorted at her.

"Sorta?"

"Well you keep joking that I'm some kind of demon so maybe some of my energy comes from stealing souls." Allen rolled his eyes at her.

"Haven't lost your sense of humor here."

"Nope! Zack and Daisya are wonderful cohorts while Kanda makes a wonderful victim and Komui provides endless entertainment. I think Master is just a sourpuss who doesn't like to be told what to do."

"You don't like being told what to do." Allen pointed out dryly.

"Master is worse." The pair shuddered at the memory of their master. "Anyway I'm going back to sleep." Rhea answered turning back towards her room only to see Lenalee run up to them.

"I wouldn't count on it Rey. Komui wants to see us." Rhea let out a long whine at her friend's words.

"Can't Allen go instead?"

"He was included in the **us** part Rey."

"Oh. Well shite."

"Yep, now get dressed. You're still in your pajamas." She nudged Rhea's exposed legs with her knee. She turned to Allen who was frowning at his sister's short shorts. "You should probably put a shirt on too." Allen looked down and realized that he was indeed still shirtless.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." The siblings disappeared into their rooms to dress. Rhaps yawned as she settled on Rhea's head as the girl tied her fishtail with a ribbon before starting on her other one with the rest of her hair. Rhea kicked her door shut still weaving her hair together when she met the others in the hall.

"Hasn't the Order ever heard of a vacation?" She grumbled, her pace a bit slower than the others, the dark blue ribbon clenched between her teeth.

"You'd have to take that up with the Millennium Earl." Lenalee sighed.

"Find him for me and I will. I've got no probably punching him in the face!"

"Rey," Allen sighed, cradling his head in his hands, "I really don't think that's such a good idea." Rhea finished tying her hair as they entered Komui's office.

"You never know. It might be fun." She smiled cheerfully.

"What might be fun?" Komui asked interrupting the conversation and studiously ignoring the sad puppy look Lenalee was shooting at him. His eyes darted up to her for a moment and then immediately flew to Rhea who wasn't looking at him he had just taken away her only friend.

"Punching the Millennium Earl in the face and telling him to give it a rest." Komui blinded at her a couple times.

"I can't say that I would recommend it." Rhea snickered causing him to sigh. "Now before you distract us and we end up on some random topic I'm going to give you your mission."

"Yeah or to get away from the kicked puppy look." Rhea muttered in Allen's ear. He smirked at her from the corner of his mouth. Lenalee hadn't changed her expression at all.

"No doubt."

"It appears that before they died the akuma who were chasing Zack called for reinforcements. Those reinforcements are heading this way as we speak. They are terrorizing every town they pass through and leaving nothing but death and destruction in their wake. Three towns have already been devastated. There's nobody left. People are going to be wondering what happened to their loved ones. We've got to act fast."

"Aliens." The single word uttered from Rhea's lips caused everybody to turn towards her.

"I'm sorry...?" Komui stuttered.

"Tell them aliens did it." Rhea said it again as if it was completely obvious.

"I'm confused." Lenalee stated.

Rhea sighed but explained, "If you tell them that aliens abducted those people than it explains why their clothes are still there. Plus if they've been abducted then they don't know if they're dead or not. Can't call somebody back from the dead if you don't know if they're dead or not."

"She's got a point. " Allen answered, thinking about it.

""Right," Komui trailed off having no idea what to say to that. Just what kind of children have you sent me Cross, the thought passed through his mind before he shook it away. "Well, anyway. Rhea you are to transport Allen and Lenalee a few towns over. You must stop the invasion right here right now. They cannot be allowed to progress further. Exterminate all the akuma before returning home. Make sure you have destroyed all of them before though." The three nodded. "You leave now." Komui sighed as they left. Lenalee's sad face was killing him. He hadn't meant to ruin her plans for throwing Allen a party. If it was anyone's fault it was Zack's! Not his!

The wind whistled as they flew by. Lenalee and Allen sat on the board as Rhea stood, directing it with her body. Allen shielded Lenalee with his body though Rhea quickly pulled up a curved wall to protect them. The scenery around them melded into a blend of colors.

"I wonder if Zack had innocence." Lenalee pondered.

"Maybe. That could explain why they're so relentless." Allen added on.

"It's kinda weird. They don't normally pursue a piece so persistently. Maybe there was something special about it or maybe Zack somehow managed to piss off the Earl. It's always a possibility with that one." Rhea added in. "If anyone could manage that, it'd be Zack." The board slowed down and then stopped, hovering in the air. Rhea swiveled her head, looking around. "It looks calm here so I'll set us down." Allen helped Lenalee down from the board.

"It's quiet." Lenalee's observation was a bit of an understatement. The town they had landed in was a barren wasteland. Crumbling dilapidated buildings stood all around. Many of them were only half standing. It was deathly silent all around them, not even the sounds of nature could be heard. Everything was gray; the sky, the buildings, even the ground was somehow gray.

"It doesn't look like anybody's been here in years. Maybe Komui got some bad information?" Rhea spoke, nudging a pile of what might have once been a part of a house once upon a time with the tip of her boot.

"That doesn't happen normally." Lenalee hummed though she was beginning to see how the other could think that.

"Still we should split up and look around. See if we can find any akuma or even survivors." Allen started heading in one direction. Lenalee went in another one.

"I wouldn't count on it, Al." Rhea sighed but walked in the opposite direction of her brother. The silence would have been a nice change from the chaotic Order if not for the eerie atmosphere. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Everywhere she turned shadows twisted and warped but nothing moved. "It almost feels like a trap." Rey spoke to Rhaps who fluttered by her head. She contemplated ordering her to connect with Tim and Lenalee's golem. "Does Lenalee's golem have a name? Maybe Al and I are just weird. Though I guess technically Master named Tim and I followed his example with you." Rhaps didn't answer but Rhea kept talking, not expecting the golem to answer as she moved around the abandoned community. "I'm not even sure the akuma are here anymore. Maybe the Earl gave up and called them back?" Rhaps did her best impression of skeptical glance and Rhea snickered. "Yeah you're right. That totally doesn't sound like him. They're probably hiding around here somewhere." She decided to venture into one of the houses. Like everything else it was soundless. She climbed up the stairs only to find the upper level as motionless as everything else. "Nothing in here either." Something moved in the corner of her eye as she turned to go back down the stairs. "What's was that?" A butterfly fluttered out of the shadows. Sighing Rhea stood from her battle stance. "It's just a butterfly. I wonder what it's doing here. I figured they'd go somewhere with more life." It flapped over to her. She held out her index finger, allowing it to rest. "Hello little guy." Inching like a sloth over to the window where what little light there was in the darkened house, was filtering in. the butterfly was small and mostly black except for the stark purple on the back of its wings. "Oh wow. You are a beauty." She grinned.

"Rey, who are you talking to? Did you find somebody?" Allen's voice came from Rhaps. She had been so absorbed in the butterfly she hadn't heard the golems connect.

"No. Well yes, but it's not a person. It's a butterfly." She explained. "A small butterfly marching on."

"A butterfly? Here?" Lenalee questioned.

"Yeah. It was hiding out in the house I was exploring." Rhea carried the butterfly with her as she left the house. "There you go little guy. It's better for you out here." The butterfly watched for a moment before fluttering off. "Anyway I haven't found anything here guys, it's probably just some bad information or the Earl is just fucking with us because he can. Who knows what's going through that one's head. Let's meet back up and head hom-" as the words left her lips a thunderous shriek pierced the heavens above them. Rey glared as the akuma emerged from all around her. "Oooooor not. Jeez, me and my big mouth." Harlequin slid off her arms with the command.

The air that had once been silent, now filled with screams. Everywhere they turned there were akuma. The town was overrun. The three exorcists landed on the roof of one of the few buildings still in tact.

"Do they ever end?" Lenalee demanded slicing through another akuma.

Rhea didn't answer her instead she turned to Allen and asked, "So how's this for your second, er, third," she corrected, "mission?" She snickered as his claws tore through another level one.

"It's still better than working with Kanda." Rhea laughed at his response as the whip snapped out severing the head of an akuma from the rest of the body.

"He's not so bad once you get to know him." Lenalee answered killing another akuma.

"Translation," Rhea explained with a wide grin, "he's an arsehole but you get used to it."

"Great. That's really good to know." Allen sighed though the sarcasm was dripping from his tone.

"You two really are siblings. Rey uses that same tone of voice."

"Well we did grow up together. You think we do it well you should hear Master." Rhea answered Lenalee.

"Please don't bring him up." Allen moaned as if he was in physical pain.

"Fair enough." Rhea relented and dropped the subject, snapping her whip out to slice through several more akuma like butter.

"Let's just get this done!" Lenalee shouted.

"Right!"

* * *

"In your darkest hour when the demons come call on me brother, and we will fight them together."

― Unknown


	2. Robots and Coffee and Missiles! Oh My!

**Well, I'm back with the next chapter. I'm excited to share the next installment of Shades of Gray with you all. Thank you so much for all your reviews. I so needed them. I had dental surgery and it hurt SO much. It also took 2 ½ hours! I never wanna do it again, alas I have one last wisdom tooth left, not that any of them have given me more wisdom, so I hope that won't happen for a while. I don't really have much else to tell you guys right now, the next chapter might be a bit slow coming out, I'm starting work again, well what time I do have *grumbles under breathe* but that might take up a lot of time but I will do my best to get it out and not leave you guys hanging for a while. Ahhh, you guys are the best giving me reviews on my very first chapter! All of you are so sweet so let's get down to those!**

**Dear Mad-Hatter246, First off, Hi! *waves excitedly* I love your name! It matches mine! Secondly I don't have a set time that I will update, the chapters will be posted when I finish writing them. The last time I had an update schedule I stressed myself out way too much. It wasn't pretty. I will do my best to make sure you don't go too long without an update . As for your second question, patience Dear. All in due time. Enjoy the story!**

**Dear Chaosmoon75, Hello! I'm super excited that you like the first chapter so far. I have no problem with you reading Veil of Ink and Gold, I just wanted to let you know that it was no longer being updated and the story will change. I hope you enjoy it if you do read it and continue reading and enjoying this one! Enjoy!**

**Dear Bloodmoon25, I'm so happy that you understand. I could never drop the story. I love my character too much and she has a story to tell. It just ended up that it needed to be revised and edited a bit. She's finally ready to tell me, and all of you, how it goes. It promises to be a great story and a lot better. I will always love Veil of Ink and Gold as it's basically my first draft of this. It's also the first story that I really put effort into. I can't wait to see what you think of the new version and I can't thank you enough for your support! Enjoy!**

**Dear Arkytior's Song, Arky! You came back! I missed you! Yep! You get to see it from the beginning. No binge reading for you! Ha! You get to see every single one of Rhea's spectacular mistakes unfold as they come. Yep! Rey found a butterfly and made it her friend. I can understand your excitement. I'm also excited for them to meet. I have so much fun with them. Thank you for your support, hopefully I'll figure things out soon. Until then writing brings me comfort and reviews make me oh so happy. When you ask about name change which are you referring to? Rhea's name or the name of the story? Enjoy the story!**

**Dear WinterYule, Aw, shucks! You're too sweet to me. It took me forever and I kinda left everybody hanging for a while. Honestly I'm also excited for what she has changed about her innocence. You never know what she'll pull out of her *cough cough Tyki's cough cough* hat next! I'm particularly excited about the smoke form. You'll just have to wait to see it's true form. I'm sorry! I can't help it! I just love Greek mythology so much! I also wanted it to be know that she can never possibly make her voice as high as Lenalee's. She just doesn't have to capacity to do that. Might be fun to watch her try though. She was having fun, till she fell off the train anyway. XD Always so graceful Rey. She's so graceful she could be a ballerina. Thank you so much for your praise of the fight scenes I wasn't sure about them. It's one of my weaknesses but I'm trying to work on it. Cold places will always be her kryptonite. It interferes with her innocence too. So she hates it for multiple reasons. XD As for her promise to Komui, well you never know ;D Lenalee better watch her back. Yeah he thinks he can hide from her, he's got another thing coming. Also it's not her desk so she doesn't care XD She's a brat. I realized that with the backstory I gave them there would be no way that they wouldn't count themselves as siblings regardless of blood so I just went with it. It felt more natural to me. Allen will always, ironically, be shocked by how careless Rhea is with her body. Yep! I'll be interested in finding out how you feel about Zack as well. You will see more of him in the future. Yeah he got front seat to Rey's rant about how wonderful and cute her little brother is and had to stop her when she tried to fight somebody about it. Yes Zack's innocence is a sword and shield but it's a long sword, not a katana like Kanda. The two have very different fighting styles. Zack thinks before he hurls himself at an akuma. Yep! I decided that Daisya needed more love and there are only so many places I could put him so he's getting some love in the first chapter. Kanda probably dyed Mugen red with the blood of those who dared to touch his sword, or who he thought did it. Of course Allen is always hungry. He's Allen. She'd be worried if he wasn't hungry. I don't think anyone could expect the black hole that is Allen's stomach. At least Jeryy is good natured about it. I love that everyone associates Tyki with butterflies! I do too. Their banter is one of my favorite things in the story. One of my favorite scenes for VIG was when they got tangled in each other in the maze and were arguing about it. Enjoy the story!**

**Dear 15, Ahhh! I missed you too! I'm sorry I was gone so long! I totally understand being nostalgic! I was honestly a little nostalgic writing my goodbye letter for Veil of Ink and Gold. It has been my baby for so long but it was time. There were things that needed to change that I couldn't do in Veil of Ink and Gold. I hope you come to love Shades of Gray just as much. I only hope my plans for Shades of Gray will live up to your expectations. Yes Joyd will have his time in the spot light. You sure do have a soft spot for him. XD I was surprised when I started writing but how many people wanted Joyd to have more time. So I'll give the people what they want. You might wanna pray for Rey though. He won't go easy on her. As for your question about Daisya and Rhea pranking Kanda again, well you never know. Thanks for your support and sympathy about my job. It means a lot to me as does your faithful reviewing (I was actually kinda worried you would stop reading which would have made me sad. Your reviews always come in just when I need them!) so thank you so much. I can't wait to hear from you again! Stay safe and try not to scare the passengers on your train too much with this story ;) Enjoy the story!**

* * *

"I don't think the robots are taking over. I think men who play with toys have taken over. And if we don't take the toys out of their hands, we're fools."

― Ray Bradbury

* * *

A loud explosion rocked the Order as Rhea stepped out of the bathroom. Groaning at the sunlight that streamed in from her window she got dressed, vaguely hearing Kanda say something, probably rude, to Allen outside her room. As she zipped up her boots she listened to Lenalee who explained that the blast had most likely been the science division. Stepping out into the hall to join them she took one of the coffee cups from Lenalee's tray.

"Mornin'" She greeted, still rubbing her left eye with the back of her hand.

"Rey," Allen chided, "that wasn't yours." Lenalee merely giggled at them.

"Actually it was," She explained easily, "Rey's always up by the time I pass by so I bring her first cup with me." Rhea turned the cup slightly allowing Allen to see the R.B. Written on it.

"Otherwise I do steal somebody else's as you suspected." She shrugged causing her brother to shake his head.

"I see you're still not a morning person."

She arched an eyebrow at him in response, "You expected that to change? Most children are yet I never was. Why would that change now?"

"And yet here you are, awake and dressed at daybreak." He countered causing her to grimace.

"The science division keeps waking me up. I gave up trying to sleep in the morning and not getting a lot of sleep in general." She meant it as a joke but she saw his eyebrows furrow and his lips purse. Rhea dropped his gaze.

"I'm sorry about my brother and his division, they can be noisy." Lenalee quickly interceded, looking for a way to mend the situation. Allen was obviously worried by his sister's last statement. She knew that she often worried about how much sleep Komui was getting but he wasn't going into battle. Rhea shrugged it off, her damp hair which she had yet to braid fell against the back of her still unbuttoned jacket. Allen's eyes drifted to her exposed collarbone.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm used to it by now. I know that your brother's mad as a hatter." Lenalee blinked a few times at her friend. Some of the slang she used made no sense.

"You changed it." Allen commented despite the conversation having nothing to do with Rhea's innocence. Her hand flew up to it as if she feared it would magically disappear. It was never quite the same temperature as her own skin, always a few degrees warmer. When it was cold it kept her heart warm, didn't help her fingers much though. She only minded it on hot days when it felt heavier, as if it was absorbing her sweat into it and heating up even more.

"Yeah, I broke it on a mission, a few months back," Lenalee interrupted her.

"Again."

"Hush you." Rhea wrinkled her nose at her. "Komui fixed it for me. He refined it even more."

"More?" Allen asked.

"Okay so I may have broken it more than once."

"Komui's reforged it for her a couple of times." Rhea glared at Lenalee but continued her explanation.

"Each time he makes it stronger and more durable. It's not ink anymore. It hasn't been ink in a long time. It's actually molten platinum mostly now. Since there's more of it and it's heavier I have to spread it out more but that means I have more at my disposal now too. It wraps around my left arm goes across my collarbone and down my right arm." She took off her jacket, showing him. Lenalee frowned when the jacket landed on her head.

"Rey!" Rhea stuck her tongue out at her. Allen poked and prodded the innocence a few times before experimentally pinching a bit of it. With little resistance it pulled up from her skin. He rubbed it between his thumb and index finger for a few seconds, fascinated by the way it felt as it moved and acted like slime but was smooth to the touch instead of sticky and gooey. He let it go and she easily slipped it back into place as she tugged her jacket back on, having removed it from Lenalee's head, still not bothering to close it.

"That's really cool, Rey. Anyway," his face brightened and Rhea had a pretty good idea what he was going to say next. "I'm off to the dining hall!" Allen proclaimed happily, no doubt already thinking of what he would have for breakfast, as she had suspected. Rhea nearly choked on her coffee at the face Lenalee made when she heard those words.

"You can't go there!" Allen gave her a strange look, eyes widening, mouth opening, and his head tilting to the side as he patted Rhea on the back trying to help her cough up the coffee that had gone down her windpipe instead of her throat. Lenalee seemed to realize her mistake and quickly added, "I mean they're cleaning down there right now and we shouldn't bother Jeryy at the moment." Lenalee did her best to cover what was actually going on but honestly, in Rhea's opinion, Allen was so oblivious that it wouldn't even occur to him that they were throwing a party, never mind one for him.

"Well then I'll go help." Lenalee panicked again while Rhea merely snickered into her coffee mug.

"No!" Lenalee quickly tried to disguise her sudden outburst. "They don't need any more help but I could use your help carrying this coffee down to the science department, you know how they need their coffee." Rhea's snort drew a confused look from Allen while Lenalee furrowed her eyebrows and pouted at her.

"Okay." Allen consented, brushing off their weird behavior. "Do you want to come with us, Rey?" She looked down at her half full cup of coffee for a moment and then shrugged.

"Aye." Lenalee shook her head. Rhea always spoke so casually. Her slang made no sense at all to her but Allen seemed to know what she had meant just now, so she let it go. At least she didn't grunt like Kanda. Rhea had once explained that because she grew up constantly on the move with Cross she picked up a lot of random slang wherever she went, all that mattered was that she liked it. Most of it was British or Irish but she had a few others as well.

"Great!" Together the three exorcists made their way down to the science division.

"Brother! I brought coffee." Lenalee called as she walked up to where Komui and a large group of the science division were all standing around. Allen wasn't far behind her. Rhea trailed behind them still sipping her own coffee. She shuffled closer, making sure Lenalee's attention was on Komui before she reached over, stealing a mug of coffee and dumping the contents into her own. Silently she slid the empty cup back onto the tray. "Coffee, anyone?" She asked. Rhea looked up at the massive robot and where the wall used to be.

"What's with the giant robot?" She questioned but nobody answered her, far more interested in the coffee which she could understand.

"That would be lovely, thank you Lenalee." Reever said while Johnny inquired why Allen came too.

Lenalee quickly covered, "I needed some help carrying all the coffee so I asked him to help and being such a great friend he did." Rhea would've laughed at the thinly veiled excuse but didn't dare take her eyes off the robot. Something told her that it wouldn't end well. Her thoughts soon came to fruition as the robot picked up Komui's cup.

"Oh boy, that's not good." Rhea groaned to herself. Allen looked up at it with surprise.

"Does this robot drink coffee?" Reever looked on in stunned horror, his mouth agape while Komui laughed somehow missing the robot grabbing his cup.

"What are you talking about? He may be my alter ego but he's still only a robot. There's no way a robot would or could drink coffee," The robot had almost finished the coffee at this point. "Oh, he's drinking it." Upon finishing the coffee sparks began flying everywhere causing the entire room to panic but then the robot spoke.

"I am Sir Komlin. I will make exorcists stronger." Instinctively Rhea backed away from the robot as subtly as she could, being careful to keep her boots from squeaking on the wooden boards of the floor. Komui smiled up at the robot as if he were the proud father of a child who had just accomplished something great.

"That's my Sir Komlin. Good boy!" He praised the robot. Reever proceeded to voice his concerns about the robot but Komui only yelled at him for it, arguing that Sir Komlin was perfect in every way while the robot in question sparked some more and hiccuped which Rhea didn't even know was possible.

"Good grief, Brother..." Lenalee started shaking her head at her older brother. Sir Komlin looked down at her.

"I should operate on this woman to make her more macho." That thought seemed to hit the group like a train.

"What?" Lenalee asked as if she hadn't heard the robot properly. The rest of the room's occupants screamed in terror and alarm excluding Rhea who raised an eyebrow at the image.

"Make Lenalee macho?!" Komui sobbed, tears streaming down his face in a waterfall. "No! Impossible! Don't do it! Take Rhea instead!"

"Hey!" Rhea snapped at him but the robot, thankfully, ignored this suggestion.

"No, I'll strengthen her by making her macho." Sir Komlin countered. Rhea didn't know if she should be thankful or insulted. "I'll strengthen her. I'll strengthen her." He chanted.

"What?" Lenalee asked again, this time backing away slowly.

"Run Lenalee, run!" Now!" Komui ordered through his tears. The robot didn't take kindly to these words.

"I won't let her escape! I'll operate on her!" Sir Komlin grabbed Lenalee before she got very far. The tray crashed to the floor with all the cups breaking letting the coffee soak into the floor.

"Lenalee!" Allen called while Johnny panicked shaking him violently.

"I don't know why but I'm kinda getting excited for some reason." Tup's input didn't help the situation at all.

"Why are you saying that at a time like this?!" Reever scolded, getting in his face. Komui continued to freak out as Reever began to dig through a chest all the while grumbling about Komui, "Jeez, what are you even doing?" He tossed a few things over his shoulder including a rubber duck. "Chief! Where's his main circuit?" Reever demanded as he pulled a giant gun out.

"What? Let's see that would be..." Komui paused, trailing off for a moment before realizing what exactly it was that Reever was going to do. He proceeded to flip out again, flailing and sobbing some more. "I won't allow you to destroy Sir Komlin II! How could you do such a thing?! My sweat, tears, and love went into him!" He declared.

"Ew." Rhea wrinkled her nose at his statement.

"Then you don't care what happens to Lenalee?" Reever challenged, reminding his supervisor what was at stake.

"No! No! I won't allow that either!" Komui shrieked again.

"Well then what the hell do we do?" Reever questioned.

"Brother! Get me down from here!" Lenalee cried, still in the clutches of Komlin the II. Komui whirled around, sobbing as he tried to decide between his love for Lenalee and his love for Sir Komlin.

"I love you Lenalee! But I love Sir Komlin too! But I also love Lenalee! What should I do?" Rhea began to wonder how he could possibly cry that much and not be dehydrated.

"This is getting out of hand, don't you agree, Allen?" Rhea muttered mostly to her herself as she walked up to her brother though she nudged him with her elbow. Apparently Komui heard her because his eyes darted over to them and then gained that evil glint in his eyes that spelled trouble.

"Oh yeah...I forgot you were here, Allen Walker."

"Run." Rhea advised in his ear. Allen, rightfully so, looked scared. His eyes widened and he jerked back as if it would save him.

"What?" He turned to his sister.

"Sir Komlin! Good news! Believe it or not, it seems that Allen is having a problem,"

"Rhea cut him off, "He's got a problem alright but that would be you." She shot him a pointed glare but Komui just ignored her and carried on sacrificing her brother to the robot that was no doubt malfunctioning.

"Due to his broken anti-akuma weapon!" He spoke with far too much joy.

"What?!" Allen dropped the tray, his voice shaking. Komui ignored the shattered pottery and the coffee that now colored the floor.

"Fix it for him right away!" At those words Sir Komlin examined Allen.

"An injury?" It questioned more to itself than anybody else.

"Eh?" Allen shuffled back a bit, clutching his arm to his chest trying to hide it from the robot.

'Supervisor!" Reever howled at Komui.

"Looks like the chief's throwing Allen to the wolves." Russell commented from his hiding place under one of the many tables. Rhea had to agree with him, quickly tying her hair into it's twin braids.

"The priority has been changed. The priority has been changed." Sir Komlin chanted causing Allen to back away farther. "Allen Walker needs to be treated with top priority." With that the robot knocked Lenalee out with a gas and set her down.

"No worries, she's fine." 65 assured everyone, stating that he could see her vitals.

"I don't think that's the point, besides that's not really the problem." Allen moaned. Sir Komlin set Lenalee down gently on the floor.

"Now, I'll move on to capturing Allen Walker.." Allen shrunk away, unsure.

"Allen! Run!" Rhea and Reever shouted together.

"Where?" Allen questioned panic stricken. He looked to the pair for guidance.

"Doesn't matter! Someplace far!" Reever answered. Allen agreed.

"I'll pursue the target." Sir Komlin spoke causing Allen to run between it's legs and out the gaping hole where there had once been a wall. "I'll pursue him! I'll pursue him." The robot chanted again before stomping out after the white haired boy. Komui ran over and tried to shake Lenalee awake.

"Lenalee! Lenalee! Lenalee!" When she didn't come to he started bawling again.

"He gassed her you wanker!" Rhea snapped smacking him upside the head. They could still hear Sir Komlin crashing around the tower chasing Allen who they could also hear screaming.

"I wonder if Allen's alright?" Russell asked.

"Would you be?" Rhea countered rolling her eyes at the scientists. "I'm pretty sure this doesn't happen to other people." She was ignored.

"I don't think so." Johnny answered causing Rhea to sigh while they debated if Sir Komlin would run out of batteries before he caught Allen, due to the fact that Allen was still only human running on an empty stomach.

"You guys aren't really much help." Rhea sighed, stretching, having realized that she would have to save her brother. "And if you're so worried about him not having breakfast you could offer him some of **your **food." She gave them a pointed look. Johnny looked a bit sheepish.

"Listen up! We can't allow any more damage. The Order doesn't pay overtime, but has no problem cutting our salaries." Reever rallied the science division who bemoaned that fact about the Order. "If you don't want that to happen than we need to stop Sir Komlin immediately. We also need to rescue Allen, got that?" He left out the part that he had no idea if Rhea would just sit back and laugh or if she would take the entire building down trying to save her brother.

"Roger!" They all shouted saluting him. Reever began barking orders.

"Russell, you're on recon! No.65, guide Allen! Others await further instructions!" Everyone saluted again while Rhea wondered if it would help at all or if her brother was truly doomed to whatever Komui's abomination of a robot would do to him all in the name of 'helping' him. She doubted it would help at all. Knowing Komui it would probably make things worse.

"Section Leader Reever!" Tup shouted, raising his hand as if he were back in school again, "I've got a good idea for an operation plan!" Reever looked hopeful while Rhea looked skeptical at best.

"Explain it!" Reever ordered.

"It's name is "The tears of sadness become a waterfall of hope" operation!" Reever sighed while Rhea merely arched an eyebrow in response.

"What kind of a plan is that?" Reever asked through from the look on his face he seemed to be sharing Rhea's skepticism.

"We just capture him using this rope!" Tup explained pulling a rope out. Rhea didn't want to know where he had been keeping it. The rest of the science division hit the floor while Rhea slapped a hand against her forehead, covering her eyes.

"Yep, Allen's doomed." Not that anybody was listening to her.

"That's impossible." Reever told Tup with a deadpan expression.

"Actually it's just dumb." Rey stated.

"Forgive me but sometimes we must resort to primitive thinking." Tup disagreed. Reever glanced at Rey who simply shrugged. He wasn't her problem.

"Well, okay...go ahead and try." Reever consented when Tup started making wild animal noises. Rhea took a couple steps back from him, Gods, I hope that's not contagious, she thought.

"How do you people get any work done?" Rey wondered aloud as Reever sat down. He just sighed and held his head in his hands. He didn't have an answer for her. Tup ran out swinging the rope like a lasso. There was a loud crashing sound along with some screaming that sounded like Tup. Reever, Rhea, and the rest of the group waited patiently.

"It failed!" Tup shouted as he came flying back and collided with the floor.

"That was quick." Reever seemed resigned to his fate.

"Big surprise." Rhea agreed with Reever. He shot her a tired smile. At least he enjoyed her commentary. Rusell updated them on Sir Komlin's location and even gave the speed at which the robot was moving. She looked around at the scientists. Yeah, they aren't going to be any help whatsoever, she thought, shaking her head. "Okay that's it. Forget this. I'm just gonna break it." Rhea started out the giant hole in the wall only for Reever to grab her by one of her braids.

"Let's hold off on that for just a little while." Reever laughed nervously when she glared at him. He rubbed the back of his head after dropping her braid. "You don't wanna get in trouble for destroying part," Or all, he added silently, "of the Order. At least let us try a more competent plan, alright?"

"Fine." She pouted, leaning up against the wall. Her face said she didn't believe in them at all.

"Yes, it seems that it's my turn now." Johnny said as he stroked his chin. Rhea raised an eyebrow and began to question if she really should just go help Allen behind their backs. The science division wasn't helping much, or at all. Reever questioned through sleepy eyes, his head resting on his arms on the back of the chair. Johnny produced a small rectangular box that fit in his hands. Nobody looked impressed until it summoned a second robot, this one with cleaning equipment attached to it.

"Another robot?!" Reever demanded jumping up from his chair.

"It's got plenty of features." No.65 commented.

"It's holding a broom." Rey corrected, not daring to take her eyes off it even though it was only several centimeters taller than her, around Tup's height, as opposed to Komlin's towering height she still didn't trust it. Reever backed away suspiciously, displeasure clearly painted on his face.

"Johnny what the hell is this?" He shook as he asked the question. Rhea could hear the quiet clinking of his bracelets. Johnny proceeded to explain the robot as a cleaning robot meant to help around the lab and excitedly told them that it could even take on an akuma. The last statement was met with quite a bit of doubt and a few scathing comments from Rhea.

* * *

Allen wasn't making much progress in getting away from Sir Komlin II. He wasn't too sure about the new robot when it appeared in the hall, still he let No.65 direct him to the storeroom.

"Can it really handle it, Johnny?" Reever asked hiding in another hall with Rhea and Johnny where they could see the robots, though he kept one eye on the girl. Reever clearly didn't believe in the smaller robot while Rhea wondered how this could possibly work.

"How could it? All Komlin has to do is step on it." Rey pointed out with a groan. Johnny ignored them both choosing to laugh gleefully. It didn't ease Reever's doubts and silently he agreed that Rhea was probably right.

Allen ran into the storeroom, gasping for breath, his hands resting on his knees. The robot was already in the room. Upon hearing a sound Allen looked up only to find the robot vacuuming the floor.

"Ah, great! It's cleaning the floor now!" Allen wailed while Johnny lamented that he had programmed it too well. Neither Rhea nor Reever were surprised.

"That doesn't really help Allen." She points out to Johnny who continued to moan about the programming of his robot.

"Yeah I thought this would happen." Reever kept one hand wrapped around Rhea's right braid; the other hand pulled out a radio. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yes!" A voice called back.

"Sorry about this Allen, but head to the hall. We'll rescue you there!" Sir Komlin came crashing through the storage room, uncaring as he destroyed yet another wall.

"Wait! I have to treat your injury!" Sir Komlin shouted as it fired missiles at the fleeing exorcist.

"You're going to give me more injuries!" Allen countered, not that it mattered to the robot. Ditching Komlin with some directions from No.65 Allen made it to the hall. Rhea joined him, having managed to free herself from Reever's grip on her hair.

"Sorry to make you wait, Allen! We'll rescue you this time!" Reever told the exhausted exorcist from the floating platform.

"Havin' fun?" Rhea drawled with a sly grin upon seeing Allen was unharmed. He glared at her for a second; at least until she pulled a package of cookies out from one of her pouches on her belt and handed them to him. He shoveled four of them in his mouth looking a lot like a squirrel.

The enemy approaches!" Russell announced as if they couldn't hear the robot thundering down the hall.

"Johnny, now!" Reever ordered. Johnny wasted no time in summoning the giant cannon that was built into the platform and powering it up.

"Be prepared, Sir Komlin! Don't take us nerds lightly!" Johnny shouted with the rest of the science division shouting their agreement. As usual Sir Komlin came crashing into the hall right in front of Allen uncaring about the decimated walls it left in it's wake. Both exorcists fell into defensive positions. As the cannon readied to fire Komui came flying from out of nowhere, crying of course.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot my Sir Komlin!" He grabbed onto Johnny, wrapping his arms around his face, preventing him from seeing, in an attempt to save his robot.

"Don't you care about what happens to Allen?!" The rest of the science division hollered.

"It's not Sir Komlin's fault!" Komui argued as if it made a difference. Reaching for anything to grab onto, trying to steady himself as Komui was attempting to yank him away from the controls Johnny's fingers wrapped around the lever that controlled the platform. It began firing randomly as it spun wildly.

"Chief!" They all shouted, holding on for dear life as it whirled around at top speed. Rhea watched it gleefully waiting to see if any of them would fly off.

"What's all the fuss?" Kanda asked coming out of his room. Allen and Rhea looked over at him. Kanda seemed perfectly calm despite all the chaos around him.

"I'll explain later, right now we have to do something about that robot." Kanda looked over at the robot. He didn't look nearly as surprised as Rhea thought he should be. "If we knew it's weakness we could do something about it." Kanda rolled his eyes at Allen and his explanation.

"I know it's weakness." Allen looked surprised while Rhea raised an eyebrow in suspicion. What would he want in return, she wondered.

"What?" Allen asked, eyes growing hopeful.

"How have you managed to ignore all this racket?" Rhea questioned far more interested in that. She planned to just cut the robot's head off and be done with it.

"Since I brought down a similar robot in the past." Kanda said, tone implying that he was bored.

"What is it?" Allen pressed eagerly.

"That would be the scruff." Kanda answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Scruff. Got it." Allen wrote it down on a pad of paper before he realized that he had no idea what that was. "Wait! What the heck is that?" He cried.

Kanda, clearly quite amused responded, "Well, it must be your fate to meet your end here." With that he walked away. Rhea noticed that he had found Mugen again. She couldn't see if it was still pink or not though.

"Wow. Big help. Thanks so much, Bastard." Rhea sniped after the retreating exorcist. She was so gonna put his underwear in the freezer later.

"What? Oh come on! Why do you have to be such a jerk all the time?!" Allen shouted in despair as Sir Komlin crept up behind him.

"Uh, Allen?" He ignored her as he continued to wail about Kanda. "Uh, Allen?" He still didn't hear her or he just wasn't paying attention. "Allen!" Rhea lunged for him as the platform finally stopped spinning and Sir Komlin grabbed Allen's leg. Allen clung to her arm as she struggled, having a game of tug of war, with the robot over her brother.

"Allen Walker successfully captured." Sir Komlin said as triumphantly as a robot could as it managed to yank the boy from his sister's grip.

"Rey! Help me!" Allen shouted reaching out for her.

"Allen!" She grabbed onto his hand again.

"Operate! Operate! Anyway let's operate!" The mini robots that all looked like Komui, which was definitely going to give Rhea nightmares, chanted as Sir Komlin reeled Allen in shaking Rhea off, her glove still clutched in his hand. Rhea grabbed onto the railing before she fell down the elevator shaft. Allen activated his innocence only for Komui to shoot him with a blowgun.

"Damn it Komui!" Rhea snarled at him, launching herself up over the railing, peeling Harlequin from her skin as she went. "Innocence acti-" Rhea didn't get any farther before Komui shot her too. Harlequin immediately deactivated and her legs gave out under her. She fell against the railing no longer able to move.

"Chief!" Reever shouted. The scientists rushed to try and take the blowgun from him, though it was a little late now. Allen moaned as the drug made its way through his system and he got dragged into the operating room. "Allen!" Reever called out. Then he turned to Rhea, "Rhea, are you sure you can't move?" He yelled in one last desperate attempt to save the boy.

"Yeah I'm sure! I'm still trying to move!" She snapped as the doors closed and Allen was lost to Sir Komlin II. Lenalee woke up. Taking one look at the mayhem around her, from Rhea leaning against the railing cursing in Gaelic to the science division trying to wrestle the blowgun from Komui to Allen's moaning from inside the robot. Sighing, she activated her innocence. Lenalee was on the tip of the cannon before anybody could do anything. "Lenalee...?" Rhea called uncertainly. She could just barely see the other girl out the corner of her eye. She watched her launch off the cannon, bringing her innocence down on the robot's head. Twisting the air she brought her leg up into an uppercut to the robot's chin sending it stumbling backwards. She landed on the railing right by Rhea's head. Rhea yelped when Komlin tried to grab Lenalee; smashing the railing channel of the tower when it missed. Flying on the wind she landed on it's head with a resounding thud and kicked it's eye in. Desperately trying to save itself from the onslaught of attacks the robot fired several lasers, all far too slow to hit Lenalee though one came close to Rhea, singeing the tip of her bangs. Lenalee arched across the sky like an acrobat before coming down hard right through the middle of the robot. Sir Komlin crashed to the ground and didn't move. Lenalee walked over to the slightly open doors with Reever not far behind her.

"Is Allen okay?" Reever asked.

"Allen? Allen? Allen can you hear me? Are you okay?" Lenalee called looking for the boy.

"Somehow." Allen answered as Reever offered him a hand to help pull him out of the surgery compartment which Allen accepted. He started to unravel the numerous bandages that Sir Komlin had wrapped him up in. "Rey, are you okay?" He asked glancing over at his sister, who was being helped to her feet by Russell.

"I'm fine," she grumbled still glaring at Komui, "if anything I should be asking you that." She retorted. He just smiled at her though she started snickering at Timcampy who had gotten bandaged to Allen's head. Rhaps fluttered closely to her head, recording the chaos for her mistress' later amusement.

"We almost got one of our important fellow Order members injured all because of a stupid robot." Reever sighed looking over at the robot and the rest of the scientists who were kicking the remains while demanding that it be destroyed.

"Sir Komlin stinks!"

"Stupid robot!"

"Melt it down! Melt it down! Melt it down! Melt it down!" Komui climbed up the robot trying to defend it from the rocks and debris that they were pelting Sir Komlin with.

"It's not Sir Komlin's fault. It's the coffee! Hate the crime not the criminal!" Komui argued.

"I don't think that's how it works." Rey pointed out leaning back against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Have some compassion, he's just a little boy."

"Now that's disturbing." She sighed shaking her head, "I still don't think other people have these problems." Rhea commented offhandedly as Lenalee jumped up to where Komui stood, her innocence activated.

"Brother," Lenalee drew his attention. He looked at her, with tears in his eyes.

"Lenalee! You've got to stop these monsters!"

"Go to your room and think about what you've done!" She snapped kicking him and the robot from the hall. Rhea leaned over the edge of the railing with Reever and Allen to watch them fall.

"Sorry about that Allen." Reever apologized.

"That's alright." Allen responded with a smile. Rhea really couldn't understand how he forgave people so easily, though Reever was not the one at fault.

"He really does have the best intentions in developing Sir Komlin II to treat exorcists...though it failed." He sighed the last part.

"I'm just glad that everyone's okay." Allen reassured him. Lenalee smiled as she walked over to where he stood with his sister.

"Well then, will you accompany me one more time?" Rhea grinned knowingly at him from her place against the wall. He raised an eyebrow at her but she was busy remembering the wild goose chase Lenalee had dragged her on to find chocolate pudding, of all things, during her very thorough tour of the Order along with a quiz upon ending just to keep her from the mess hall.

* * *

"You're sending us where?" Zack asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Lisbon, Portugal. There's been an increasingly high number of akuma popping up around there. It doesn't help that there have been multiple gang wars there recently. The minister just called in the army to quiet it all down. I can only imagine that things will get worse. I need you to go there immediately and wipe them out." Komui answered, sitting at his desk watching the pair behind his folded hands.

"Wipe out the minister and the army or the gangs?" Rhea questioned, from her place against the wall with a smirk across her lips. Komui shout her a dirty look.

"The akuma, Rhea." Zack snickered quietly until Komui shifted his glare to him. He sighed at them both. "Just go!" He pointed at the door sending the sniggering pair out.

"Can we wipe out the politicians anyway?" Rhea pressed.

"Get out!" Komui chucked one of his many paperweights at the chortling pair who ran as things started flying.

"Well, that wasn't a no." Rhea pointed out as they ran for the waterway. They were met with two finders who already had their bags packed.

"Good point. We'll have to wait and see when we get there." Zack grinned as they jumped into the gondola.

* * *

The weather in Lisbon was mild, the sun shone down on the bustling street. The exorcists wove through the crowds allowing their eyes to dart around. Nobody approached them. The finders trailed after them, ready to hide at a moment's notice.

"It's awfully quiet here." Zack noticed as he looked around.

"I don't know how you can call this quiet. There are people everywhere." Rhea pointed out, she could see a couple of sleazy looking men following them. No doubt hoping to rob us. Jokes on them though, Rhea snickered to herself. "Hey Zack," he looked over at her as she called his name, "come this way," she turned to the two finders, "better make yourselves scarce for the next few minutes, we don't want you to get hurt." They nodded and both veered off in different directions.

"So you saw them too?" Zack whispered to her quietly as he turned down an alleyway, leading her with an arm around her shoulders.

"Kinda hard to miss." She responded rolling her eyes at him. The two men followed them in, their footsteps loud against the ground unlike the silent light steps of the exorcists.

"You two lost or somethin'?" One of them grinned. Rhea grimaced as she noticed the lack of teeth.

"Nope! We're just fine." Zack answered cheerily.

"Are ya sure? We could help you and the lovely lady out." He raked his eyes up and down Rhea's figure, they never made it to her face. "It wouldn't be too much trouble for us. Of course we'd have to discuss payment."

"We don't need your help! Get lost creeps!" Rhea snarled.

"Why you little-!" The second man lunged only for his friend to grab him.

"Now, now, there's no reason to be like that. We're just trying to be helpful."

"Thanks but as I said before, we don't need any help." Zack spoke calmly, smile still on his face but it didn't reach his eyes, now dark and stormy.

"Well we tried to be nice about it."

Rhea cut him off, "You call that being nice?"

"Let's try it this way, those jackets are mighty nice as is that sword. Give 'em here along with all your cash and you won't be hurt." Zack glanced at his sword which was strapped to his back. He wondered if he should tell them that the handle would burn them then decided that they probably wouldn't believe him if he did.

"What part of get lost do you not understand?" Rey spits at them.

"Fine. Hard way it is." The first man grinned. "I'm good with that." He swung at her. Zack leapt at him but the second man got in his way.

"If your little bitch can't protect herself then she shouldn't be mouthing off. There's only one reason a woman should open her mouth and it ain't for talking." Zack snarled at him and the sickeningly twisted grin on the man's face. He pulled his fist back before smashing it into the man's face. The shorter man went rolling back.

"Now, that's no way to speak about a woman. You really should learn some manners." He turned on his heels to help Rhea only to hear his opponent get up.

"You dick!" Th man ran at him, fist raised. Zack shook his head and ducked. The punch went sailing over his head. He jabbed the man in the solar plexus, knocking the wind from him.

"Attacking from behind is for cowards but then again I doubt you have any honor." He snorted. A loud thud drew their attention to where the man fighting Rhea hit the wall of the alley. He staggered back, clearly disoriented. Rhea grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed it into the wall again. She pulled back but Zack seized her wrist before she could do it again. She turned her gaze to him.

"Zack,"

"That's enough Rhea, he's down." She glowered at him causing his eyes to widen and his mouth to hang open for a moment before he shook it away, regaining his previous thoughts. "They may be scum but they're still human." He reminded her once he got over his shock. She released the thug's greasy scraggly hair. "We're exorcists. We need to be better than them. We've been chosen by God and we must act accordingly." She sighed but straightened up, shaking away her glare, allowing a neutral expression to settle on her face. She turned on her heels and stalked out of the alleyway. Zack took a moment to observe the would be muggers. His opponent was still conscious. Out of breath and bruised but he'd live. Rhea's opponent lay on the ground, his left cheekbone shattered, blood dripping down from his broken nose and forehead. The wall also had blood smeared on it. One of the guy's ribs was out of place as well. Zack bent down, pressing two fingers to the man's neck. "You may want to get your friend to a hospital." He looked over only to find the other man gone. "Or not. Guess I'll do it." Heaving the guy over his shoulder he walked after his oddly silent companion. "Well at least you're less likely to get caught up in the fight with the akuma if you're in the hospital.

"Are you alright Lord Exorcist?" The finder asked when he exited the alleyway. The finder was shorter than Zack but still a good couple centimeters taller than Rhea. His blue eyes caught sight of the man slung over the exorcist's shoulder.

"Yes, I'm fine. He's not though. You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest hospital is, do you?" He asked, eyes darting around for the hooded figure of Rhea.

"I do." He replied, then noticing the wandering gaze, answered the unspoken question. "Lady Exorcist has already left. I sent Ryan after her and she has her golem with her."

"Thank you Henry." Zack sighed as Henry led the way.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Lady Exorcist seemed upset when she appeared."

"I'm not entirely sure. I've never seen that side of her before. Maybe she just didn't get enough sleep. Or maybe it's Komui. I heard that the robot he built caused a lot of trouble and that Allen was at the center of it."

"That's Lady Exorcist's younger brother, correct?"

"Yes. She's very protective of him."

* * *

Rhea moved quietly down the street, the finder who had followed her trailing a few steps behind her. She caught several weird glances but nobody approached her. "For a place that was supposed to be teeming with akuma it's awfully quiet," she paused thinking back to her mission with Allen and Lenalee. The akuma had waited until they had split up before attacking.

"Did you say something, Lady Exorcist?" The finder jogged up to her.

"Oh, I was just talking to myself. It's very peaceful," she saw his funny look and clarified, "in terms of akuma activity. We haven't seen one, not a single akuma at all on this trip. It's odd."

"Isn't..." he started then stopped and then started again, "isn't that a good thing?" He asked tilting his head to the side.

"Not really, it's Ryan right?" He nodded, his shaggy honey blond hair bouncing.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Please don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old." Her lips quirked up for the frist time since she left the alley and Zack behind.

"My apologies."

"No need. How long have you been with the Order?" He scratched the back of his head, eyes darting down to the ground.

"You caught me. I've only been with them for a few months."

"It's bad because it either means that the akuma are evolved enough to know to hide from us, the Earl knew we were coming and ordered them to hide from us which would mean that we have a spy among us, they're setting up an ambush for us, or we got bad information and have wasted time and resources coming out here for nothing." She explained as her eyes darted around. Her jacket should be drawing them out yet nobody moved towards them or acted suspicious enough for her to warrant approaching them. Out the corner of her eye she noticed several rustic stalls. Fully turning her head she saw plants and herbs filling several of them. She smiled at the old women behind the stalls, when they met her gaze she inclined her head at them and kept walking.

"Would you like a flower, Miss?" A little girl with oily blonde hair covered by burgundy headband that had clearly seen better days asked. Her dress was in a similar state. She did her best to smile at Rhea but there was defeat and sorrow in her blue-green eyes. "Please Miss, would you like to buy a flower?" She held out an azalea. Rhea squatted down towards the little girl as she pulled her hood down, letting her braids fall free.

"Do you think it would look good with my hair?" She smiled softly as the girl nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!"

"Would you like to put it in for me?" The girl grinned brightly up at her and slide the flower into the weave of Rhea's braid right above her left ear. "Are you all on your own here?" The girl nodded sadly, seeing that the woman already knew the answer.

"Mama died of an infection and Daddy left one day and never come back." Her voice was soft and scratchy. "I've been trying to sell flowers but few people want them. They say I'm dirty and to get away from them. You're the only one who's bought a flower today. But I'm trying as hard as I can!" Rhea bit her bottom lip softly. Her own childhood flashed before her eyes.

"Do you have a name?"

"I did once, but I don't remember it anymore."

"I didn't have a name for a while either." Rhea told her sympathetically.

"Lady Exorcist, it's getting dark. We should regroup with Henry and Lord Exorcist at the hotel." Ryan spoke for the first time, reminding Rhea that he was there.

"Yes, yes, in a moment." She waved him off and then spoke to the little girl again. "Would you like to go somewhere else?"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Lady Exorcist?" Ryan was promptly ignored.

"Would you like to come and work for my employer?"

"Lady Exorcist! What are you doing?"

"What kind of work?" The little girl questioned, leaning back slightly.

"Cleaning mostly, maybe helping out in the kitchen, and handing out coffee too. You'd have to work hard but you'd have a roof over your head, a bed all your own, clean clothes, and as much food as you could possibly eat."

"Really?" Stars danced in her eyes.

"Can you really offer this, Lady Exorcist?" Doubt clouded Ryan honey colored eyes. She turned to look at him over her shoulder.

"We're always looking for help, Ryan. Besides Jeryy could use a helping hand and somebody to hand out coffee when Lenalee isn't there."

"I still don't know," Ryan looked unconvinced, "shouldn't the supervisor make this decision?" The little girl's eyes darted between them, wondering if she would really be sleeping in a bed or in a cardboard box crammed into a small alley again; or if she could actually take the offer given to her by the strange woman.

"Are you telling me that he's not gonna take one look at her and not fall head over heels for her adorable little face?" Ryan sighed, knowing her words were true. "So," she turned back to the little girl, "would you like to come with us or not? The hotel is warm and dry."

"It's starting to rain Lady Exorcist and we really should be heading back." Ryan still didn't look convinced.

"So? Do you want to? It's up to you." The little girl nodded excitedly.

"Yes!"

"I only need you to do one thing for me." Rhea rolled her sleeve up revealing Harlequin's deactivated form wrapped around her arm.

"What?"

"Just touch this black thing on my arm."

"Is that all?" She seemed skeptical but then Rhea nodded.

"Okay!" She reached out and touched the innocence. "It's so smooth!" She tugged it up, watching in fascination as it easily pulled from the woman's skin. "It's not sticky!"

"Nope! It's very special. Now you can't go around without a name, so do you want to pick a name out or would you like me to give you one?"

"You'd really give me a name?! Yes please!" She bounced on her heels, a huge grin blooming on her face.

"Well, what about Azalea? It's the flower you gave me and it's pretty like you." The girl seemed to contemplate Rhea's choice, rolling it around on her tongue for a few moments.

"Yeah okay." Azalea agreed.

"Perfect! Now let's get out of the rain." Rhea held out her arms and scooped the girl up and carried her back to the hotel with Ryan leading the way.

* * *

"Rhea?"

"Yes, Zack?"

"Why do you have a little girl with you?"

"Because she's coming with us."

"She's **what**?"

"Are you deaf now, Zack? I said she's coming with us." Zack groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose partially at her words and partially at her irritated tone. Where had that come from?

"Rhea, a mission is no place for a little girl."

"I know. I had Ryan call Elizabeth. She's not too far from here. She should be here by tomorrow. She's going to stay with Azalea while we continue our mission and then she's coming home with us."

"You don't even like children!" He argued. Rhea was quiet as she cleaned Azalea's face with a washcloth. "Or am I wrong?"

"Azalea, why don't you go get in the bath. I'll be in to help you with your hair in a minute."

"Okay." The little girl hopped off the bed and skipped into the bathroom. She glanced back at Rhea one more time who smiled reassuringly at her until she closed the door.

"Why couldn't you have waited to say that until we were alone?" Her lips pulled down into a frown as she turned to face him.

"Because I'm seriously confused! I swore you said you didn't like children so why did you show up with a child." Rhea mumbled something. "I didn't hear that." She mumbled something again a little louder but he still missed it. "Rhea pleased speak up." Her eyes glued to the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I said because she reminds me of myself. I lived on the streets." His eyes widened and his mouth hung open as she whispered softly. Her eyes darted up to meet his. "I know what it's like. She's not making it selling flowers. She's probably 10 or 11. 12 at most. She would have gotten desperate soon enough and agreed to do things. Things a girl her age should even know about. There are sick people in the world. People who get off on that. Or she'll die. Either way she doesn't deserve it so forgive me for wanting to get her off the street." With that, she whirled on her heels, smacking him in the face with her braids and stalked into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"What just happened?" Zack asked turning to the finders who both shrugged at him.

* * *

The early morning light spilled into the room before Rhea was ready. She groaned and sat up. The room was quiet, Azalea was still asleep in the other bed wearing the spare shirt Rhea kept in her bag for Allen. The little girl needed clothes but they would do that later. She got up, stretched and dressed. Instead of her exorcist coat she pulled on a white peasant blouse and a teal vest. Scribbling a quick note for Azalea and another one for Zack in case Azalea couldn't read, she left the room with Rhaps fluttering after her.

"Rhaps, hold Harlequin for me." The golem gulped down the liquid as they exited the hotel and wandered back down to the street where she had found Azalea.

"Back again, Dear?" Rhea smiled at the woman behind the stall.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you yesterday," The older woman nodded understandingly.

"But you couldn't with that man watching you. Even a white witch would be shunned by the church. What can I get you?" Her jade colored eyes glinted with youth despite her body's age. Rhea pushed away the envy that was brought on by the woman's eyes. She wished that hers were that color rather than her abnormal eerily bright ones.

"I've got a few things I need."

"I probably have them. I pride myself on having the best and most expansive selection of ingredients in Lisbon." Rhea grinned at her.

"I need fairy fingers, fairy bells, fair lady, ground apple, hagthorn, and eye of newt please."

"I have all of those! Let me just get those for you." She handed the money over and took the brown paper bag. Glancing quickly in to make sure the herbs were correct she returned her gaze to the seller. "Be careful Dear! You wouldn't want to get caught by the church." Rey smiled at her.

"They couldn't catch me if they tried! Thank you! Have a good day!" She looked up at the sky, gaging the time with the height of the sun. "I guess I should head back now. I still need to get Azalea some clothes to wear until we get back to the Order. I'm sure Johnny with enjoy dressing her up in all kinds of cute clothing, she thought as she ducked into an alleyway, knowing it would lead her back to the hotel. As she came to the mouth of the other side she found a tall man dressed nicely with a monocle being held at knife point by one of the men that had tried to mug her and Zack yesterday. She groaned and stalked over. Her boot connected with the side of the man's head, sending him sprawling across the ground.

"Oh my!" The man with the monocle said, jumping back slightly. His eyes darted to her.

"Man, you just aren't very bright! I could have sworn that I told you to get lost." The thug scrambled for his knife and then to his feet, eyes widening when he saw her.

"You! I remember you!"

"Well I should hope so, it was only yesterday that you tried the same thing on me." She rolled her eyes cocking her hip out to the side, arms crossed across her chest.

"You bitch, your boyfriend sav-" He was cut off by her foot once more. She heard his nose crunch and felt several teeth break free.

"He's not my boyfriend and he didn't save me."

"You wanna go?"

"Do you feel like dying today?" She smirked at him. The brute lunged for her with a knife. She swung out of the way with ease. He swiped again and she darted to the side letting him stumble by her placing her between the man and the clown. "Are you done yet?" He got to his feet, his face red and his nose still bleeding."

"Bitch!" He spat.

"Oooh! Very creative. Who writes your material?"

"That's it! Now you're gonna die!"

"With your fearsome fighting skills?" Rhea kept her arms crossed still watching him with a bored look on her face. The yutz charged causing her to move again, this time hooking her foot around his ankle. He staggered past the aristocrat and straight into the path of an oncoming carriage. "Well that takes care of that, I guess." She shrugged letting go of the man whom she had pulled back out of the way of the blood that splattered over the ground. She scowled at the drops that now stained her leather boots.

"Thank you." She turned to the man who she had saved. "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stepped in." He smiled at her.

"It's no problem. I met him yesterday and he tried the same thing on me. He got away while I was dealing with the other one. It's no big loss."

"Still, I owe you my life."

"Not at all." His smile grew, though it was far too wide. She shifted her weight to her back foot. Watching him carefully, having already decided that with his gangly limbs and nice shoes he didn't run much and she could easily out run him if needed.

"Let me repay you." The man reached for his wallet but she stopped him.

"Oh no. I couldn't possibly take anything. I should have dealt with him yesterday."

"If you really won't take anything then I can only offer you my sincere thanks."

"You're welcome." She leaned against the wall casually, meeting his gaze with ease. She didn't dare look away. The hair on the back of her neck rose, even the hairs on her arms stood on end. "Have a good day." She turned to leave, her footsteps silent.

"Wait!" He walked over to her quickly. "May I at least have the name of the lovely lady who saved me?" She smirked at him and quirked an eyebrow. "Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Sheryl Kamelot." He offered her his hand.

"Rhea." She shook it gently. Her eyes widened when he pulled her hand up, brushing his lips over her knuckles.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rhea." He smiled but his eyes traveled all over her body.

"Likewise. Well, stay out of trouble. I have to get back to the others. Have a good day." She walked only a few steps before turning on her heels. "Minister!" He paused, turning to look at her, "I almost forgot! I managed to snag this from him." She handed the object over.

"Ah! My wallet! That would have been bad. I must have been so startled that I didn't even notice that he took it, thank you! You really are a beautiful angel sent from heaven."

Rhea smiled and laughed a bit, "Oh hardly." She waved as she walked away. As soon as he was gone she smirked, "No thank you minister." She flipped through the money she had. "I wonder when he'll realize that the wallet is empty. Poor bastard. He paid for my supplies and even gave me a little extra." She headed back to the hotel.

* * *

Sheryl walked back to his carriage with a dopey grin on his face as one of the akuma ran up to him, "Master Sheryl are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine." The akuma stared at the Noah for a moment.

"Are you sure?" He feared to ask but felt it necessary. If something happened to one of the Earl's precious family members there would be hell to pay.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" The akuma gulped before answering upon seeing the raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes.

"Well you stopped me from helping you with that mugger but you didn't change into your Noah form yet he's dead. He got hit by the carriage. How did you do that without your powers?"

"I didn't."

"What?"

"She did." The goofy grin returned to his face.

"She?" The akuma looked around. He saw plenty of women but none of them looked capable of taking down a mugger in their fancy layered dresses and corsets. Though he had been shorter than Sheryl, the mugger had been more sturdy, looking more like Skinn.

"Yes, a lovely young woman stopped him which is why I told you to stop. I wanted to see what she would do. It was magnificent. She was a true beauty." His grin grew, spreading across his face as he chuckled. "I think," he paused for a moment, "yes, I think I would like to see her again."

Rhea looked around, she still didn't see anybody suspicious. Zack stood with her in the middle of the throng of people. He ruffled his short hair tiredly.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe it's bad information. It does happen." Zack said finally conceding to what Rhea had been saying for the last several hours. He followed her as she climbed up to the roof, obviously looking for a bird's eye view of the street.

"Yeah you-"

_"On your left!" _ Rhea swung around, her head whipping around just in time to see the fully transformed level two akuma lunging at her with large claws ready to rend her flesh from her bones. How did I miss that, she thought as she fell sideways off the roof to dodge it. She grabbed the edge, ignoring the way the jagged edge sliced her palm, as Zack shouted her name and flung herself back up kicking the akuma away.

"Who said that?"

"Who said what?" Zack asked also looking for somebody close enough to say something to them.

_"That's not important right now. Focus"_

"There it is again!" Rhea continued looking around as she fell into a battle stance. Zack copied her.

"Rhea, what are you talking about?" His eyes darted around, looking for the akuma that must be causing this but there was no way to tell with the amount of akuma that surrounded them.

_"If you do not focus now you will die. We can talk later." _The voice spoke again yet Zack made no sign of hearing it.

"Harlequin Activate!" The smoke rushed out of her jacket, consuming the nearest level one. All around them, people ran, tripping over each other or using them as shields. Had she not been in the middle of a battle Rhea would've rolled her eyes in disgust. Harlequin followed her sweeping hand to consume the next akuma. The herd of level ones vanished in the smoke as Zack shredded a level two.

"Rey! Those level twos are breaking away!" He pointed his sword to a small pack of level twos who were indeed leaving the battlefield.

"On it!" Solidifying her innocence she bounded over to them, wrapping the whip around them. The three level twos thrashed as it continued to constrict around them. "You're only going to hurt yourselves. So why don't you tell me why there are so many of you here? What's up with Portugal?" She kicked another level two away, impaling it on Zack's raised sword. He looked back to see the dying akuma, his mouth forming an o before he tossed the corpse away and ripped through the one in front of him. She turned back to the akuma before her, still being crushed against one another, "So?"

"We'll never tell you, dumb exorcist!" One shouted.

"Yeah! You're too stupid!" She arched an eyebrow at the second one's comment.

"What he said! Master Noah is way too smart for you!"

Her eyes widened as the other two tried to shush the third, "Noah?"

"You dolt!" The first one, light blue in color, snarled smacking the sun like one with it's free arm.

"Don't tell her about Master Noah!" The bug like one howled.

"You just said it again!" The blue akuma snapped at the second one.

"Don't hit me!" The sun akuma shouted.

"There's a Noah here?" Rhea demanded.

"NO!" All three bellowed at her. The force of it sent her braids whipping around. Harlequin tightened around them almost instinctively.

"You just admitted to it twice." Rhea pointed out in a bored tone, cocking one hip out, the handle of her innocence held lazily. "Where?" All three were silent. "Where is the Noah?" Silence again. "Fine, what's so special about Portugal?" The akuma refused to even look at her. "Harlequin," she ordered, the whip was centimeters from destroying them. "Fine, we'll just search all of Portugal." She shrugged.

"You'll never find them in their own country!" The sun shaped akuma countered.

"There's more than one and they live here?" The other two immediately ripped his jaw off. "Well that was a rather drastic measure, wasn't it?"

"He's lying!"

"He doesn't know what he's talking about! There are no Noah here! What even are Noah?" The bug laughed nervously causing the blue one to facepalm, splattering it's face with the blood oil from the jaw it still held.

"Not that dumb!"

"Eh?" Rhea tilted her head to the side imploringly. "If it wasn't true then why did he say it?"

"Because he's dumb and doesn't know what he's talking about!" They shouted together. The sun akuma tried to argue but without it's lower jaw it couldn't make a sound.

"They why did you respond so violently if it wasn't true? If it was fake you wouldn't be trying to keep it a secret." She grinned viciously as the whip snapped, destroying all three. She turned to the next akuma only to find a large group around her. "Whoops! Guess that conversation got a bit too loud. Harlequin, make it rain!" The whip separated into large feather shaped throwing needles. Raising her arm up, fingertips coated in her innocence, she brought it down causing the feathers to rain down upon the akuma.

"Man, that move is handy!" Zack commented, slicing through another one. "These things are everywhere!"

"Komui did say that there was a high number! Let's just get this over with!" Rhea shouted, backed up against his back. "We're almost there! If you wanna cut down the outsiders I'll take care of this huge clump!"

"On it!" He leapt over to the few stragglers while she reformed the feather needles and brought them crashing down like one of the ten plagues. As the last one died, Zack walked back over to her. "Hey it's an akuma shish kebab!" Zack laughed. Rhea smirked and moved it over to him.

"Wanna taste it?" He backed away a bit, holding his hands up between them.

"I'm sure you're a wonderful cook, Rey, but I'm gonna have to pass."

"Coward." Her innocence returned to it's smokey form and deactivated on her arms again. Zack slid his sword back into its sheath on his back and shrugged at her sheepishly.

Rhea sat alone in her room with her golem, "Replay that conversation again, Rhaps." The golem did as asked replaying the chat she'd had with the three akuma. She sighed and waved at the golem to dismiss the recording. Rhaps fluttered over to Rey, nuzzling her head affectionately with her body. "Master did mention that they'd probably be crawling out of the woodwork soon. I guess soon is now." She thought back to the conversation she had with her Master before she had left for the Black Order. It had happened after Allen had eaten himself into a food coma...again.

Rhea," The man paused, blowing out a stream of smoke. The girl looked up from covering her slumbering brother with a blanket, startled by the serious tone and the use of her actual name.

"Yes, Master?"

"Come. Sit." She did as she was told, sitting on her knees in front of the man. He didn't look at her, his gaze locked on the red liquid as he swirled it around in his goblet.

"Is something the matter?"

"I have something to tell you."

"What is it?"

"I know I have taught you that people are worse than akuma. Without people there would be no akuma but there is a group of people you need to know about. They stand by the Earl and will come for your brother one day." Her gaze hardened at his words. Hair bristling, she clenched her fists, ready to beat them down should they dare to lay a finger on him.

"Who are they?" She struggled to keep her breathing even. They weren't here now. Even if they were Master wouldn't let them take Allen.

"They are the clan of Noah."

Rhea let a savage grin spread across her face as she came out of the memory, "Well, we'll be ready for them." She cackled to herself.

_"Yes, we will."_ The dark voice answered her.

* * *

"A simple hello can lead to a million things."

― Unknown

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**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I can't wait to hear what you think and any theories you have on things that happened! What part did you like the best? Which part did you not see coming? What do you think of the new characters? Remember reviews keep me alive so please do it! Until next time! Cheshire is out~!**


	3. Anthem of the Angels

**Hello my darlings! Do you ever have a day where everything that can go wrong, does? Yeah, I'm having that kind of a week. Gods, it sucks. (To skip tired, whiny rant jump down to the next paragraph) Can we bring naptime for adults into fashion please? I need one, or more coffee. That would work too. Sleep is a wonderful thing, that I am no longer getting. I'm so stressed all I want to do is sleep but I'm so stressed that I can't sleep. How am I supposed to fix this? If it can be done wrong that's probably how I'll do it. Anyway long rant aside when I can't sleep I write so I guess my bad fortune is good for you...? Not sure if that's correct or not but at this point I'm not sure of most things. One thing I am sure of is that I love all of my reviewers and their wonderful reviews so lets leave behind my whining and get to the reviews!**

**Dear Wolfs child, Welcome back! I'm excited to have you back again, don't worry about "taking so long" it's not a big deal to me. I'm just glad you enjoy the story. I'm happy to hear you got wifi back. As to your question in your first review, the H is silent in Rhea's name but not Rhaps. Funny, huh? I didn't do that on purpose. Feel free to ask me any other questions you have~! Yes Rhea is a bit more pranky, as you put it, than Luca. There's a reason for that. Kanda and Rey have an interesting relationship. I'm not sure who I wish good luck to, honestly. Your last comment had me cracking up. You'll just have to wait and see how it goes. I can promise that Tyki will be in chapter 6 (since it's half of 12 XD ) I can't wait to hear from you again! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Alexc1209, Hello Dear! No need to apologize! Sheryl is kinda a creep. There's a big difference between liking/loving somebody the way he does his family and the way he likes Rey. A really BIG difference. Yeah, you'd think that he would have checked his wallet as soon as she handed it back to him, but then again he didn't even notice that she had taken it in the first place so maybe not. XD Poor Sheryl. Actually there's more to it than just that but I'll leave that for you to interpret as you please. Actually Zack, kinda, missed the conversation she had with the akuma. So only Rey knows. Enjoy!**

**Dear Arkytior's Song, I will agree with you. The Noah bring out such a wonderful trait in her. The others may not agree though. I'm glad you like Zack. I feel like he'll add an interesting twist to things, plus he's fun to write! As for your question about the names, spoilers! You're just gonna have to wait and see. It will all be revealed in due time. Thank you for your well wishes. Luckily the pain from my surgery has stopped. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Bloodmoon25, Yes, Komlin always makes things so interesting. Aren't they all so lucky to be there to witness it? Zack and Tyki, huh? Who knows. They both have their own agenda and we all know how well Rey can mess those up. Wish them all luck! Yeah Sheryl is a strange one. Never really sure what he'll do next. YES, love Azalea! She needs it. She's had a very hard life. Yeah I couldn't get Rey to be a christian if I wanted. Too much shit has happened in life for her to believe in one god. If there are more than she can make more sense of it. She's in the dark about the 14th otherwise she'd be kicking up a fuse now. As for her magic, well just wait and see. Thank you for your high praise. I'm doing a mix of manga and anime story lines, I really love the Komlins XD, with the inclusion of some of my own things. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear WinterYule, If Rey was just nearly missed does that mean Komlin thinks she's more bulky than Lenalee? I'm not sure Tup is ever helpful but I love that line. If he didn't before he probably does now, so thanks for giving him that idea. I'm pretty sure Allen has a target on his back. Rey's got a full time job on her hands plus overtime. Unfortunately she doesn't get paid for it, if she did they might not be in such debt. Komui does make a lot of them. Oh, yes. They all have brilliant plans. My favorite has to be Tup's. Yes she is but nobody else (including me) cares. She's just gonna have to keep dealing with it. Reever's grip on her braids and the many years that it took her to grow her hair to that length is the only thing stopping her. Allen doesn't call out for Rey because he'd rather it chase him instead of her and that's what he thinks will happen if he calls for her. She's always injured in some way, or at least it seems like that to him. Maybe he's wrong. Super threatening though considering he'll still take your head off, he just might be but at least you'll die laughing? It's Komui, do you really expect him to make sense? And yes Rey does live for coffee. It's the only thing that keeps her alive. Yeah, she never did tell Rey what the chocolate pudding was for, maybe she wanted to make pie with it. Yep! Zack's pretty old school and I think that they do contrast nicely. It's very true. She makes no attempt to hide it. Wouldn't really work if she tried anyway. You're right that she did what she did for Azalea because of her childhood. It's cute and covers the fact that Rey doesn't even know what a normal girl name would be. Anything Cross would pick is probably a bad idea. XD Zack's a bit more complicated than he seems. He would have helped her but not take her with them. I based Rhaps holding Kindred on the fact that Tim swallowed Suman's innocence and figured that if he could do it than so could she. Nobody expects Sheryl. You can only hope he goes away soon. You're right, he looks like a great target. It's the part of him that normal people don't see that causes the problem. Yeah, Rey's judgment goes out the window when money is involved. She'll do pretty much anything for money. She likes money. The voice? What voice? There is no voice! *eyes dart around nervously* You must have imagined it. Zack is fun. He's a good outlet for Rey though they do disagree as you've seen. I hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**Dear 15th, Hello my beloved 15th *in creepy Earl voice* I hope you haven't suffered too long without me! I'm back with another chapter for you so you may scare more passengers on your train! The more the better! For every minute you scare somebody with your Earl grin you'll get to hug Rey for a minute and she can't bite you. XD Yes, Sheryl really appreciated Rey's help. She's just so helpful! There is nobody more helpful than Rey. Yes. I can't wait to hear what you think as it develops! Yes, Azalea brings out a different side in Rey that most people don't get to see. She's been there and knows what it's like. When she reveals how she grew up you'll understand it, and her feelings towards children in general, more. For now relish in their cuteness. I hate to say but I don't know what your last comment is about. Sorry, it's late here and my brain has turned off the lights. I can't wait to hear from you! Enjoy the chapter!**

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**As always please don't forget to review after you read! I love to hear from all of you! Even if you just tell me what your favorite part is! It means so much to me and helps me connect with all my lovely readers! Enjoy!**

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**WARNING! EXCESSIVE SWEARING IN THIS CHAPTER! HELP ME! I CAN'T MAKE THEM STOP! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

* * *

Morning will come, it always does.

With or without you.

You cannot stop the passage of time.

You can either move with it or get lost in the waves.

There is no in between.

* * *

Rhea waved goodbye to Allen and Lenalee as they left for Germany. She sighed once they were out of sight and began climbing the stairs, out of the waterway and back to the rest of the tower. She had been hoping to see Allen a bit more now that they were living in the same place but it looked like they would be running around for a while. Silently bemoaning the fact that they almost never got a day off she didn't even hear Daisya jog up to her.

"Ey! Rey! Rhea!" Her eyes snapped over to his dark ones upon realizing that he stood before her, talking to her." He laughed a bit. "You've got a lot on your mind, huh?" He grinned, walking with her as she made her way back, arms crossed lazily behind his head.

"Eh? What do you mean?" She asked, cocking her head to one side. He laughed again.

"You've been very quiet lately."

"Yeah, I guess I have. You're right I do have a lot on my mind." Her thoughts drifted to her conversation with the akuma. I guess Master was right. They're here now and I can't let them have Allen. Over my dead body, she thought, clenching her fists.

_"Uh, he's still talking to you. You might want to tune back in." _The voice reminded her. She snapped back to attention, refocusing on Daisya.

"Your brother being here must've brought back a lot of memories. You're almost never quiet, always laughing or joking around." She smiled hollowly at him.

"Yeah, you're right. It's been a lot. I'm just happy Master didn't actually kill him accidentally...or on purpose."

"You're master scares me, ya know that right?" He chuckled but she could see the sweat dripping down the back of his neck.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I know. He scares me too."

"Still," he quickly changed the subject, "must be nice to have Allen back again."

"It is, I missed him." She smiled as they stepped out of the stairwell and back into the main part of the tower. "Oh I forgot to ask, did you need something?"

"Well I stole Kanda's underwear, like you asked. What should I do with it?" He held out the pile of neatly folded garments.

"Put 'em in the freezer." His grin spread across his face.

"Yes ma'am!" He mock saluted her and she shoved him into the wall.

"Get on with it then." He jogged away before turning to call out to her, "Oh yeah! Azalea was looking for you. I believe she's in the science department!"

"Will do." She answered, veering off towards the science section.

"Have fun!" He vanished after shooting her one more brilliant grin.

"Fun?" She questioned to herself as she continued walking through the empty halls. Empty promises reverberated in her ears. Promises of a better family, a better house, and a better life. Drip, drip, drop, something rolled down her hand, splattering onto the tiled floor. Bringing her hand up to look, she found that her sharp nails had pierced through her fingerless gloves. The crimson liquid soaked the fabric and rolled down her arm as she looked at it. Her fingers stained red, were ignored. She'd change her gloves later. She walked into the science section, as Daisya said Azalea was there passing out coffee. Her eyes lit up when she saw Rhea.

"Big sis!" She set the tray down, ignoring the fact that it was now on top of Reever's notes, and ran at Rhea, arms spread wide.

"Hey Azalea!" She smiled down at the little girl who crashed into her, winding her arms as far as they would go around her hips, head pressed against her stomach.

"I missed you!" She squealed.

"Zaly, you saw me this morning." Rhea chuckled, though she hugged the girl back.

"But I really did miss you." She pouted as Rhea knelt down.

"I know you did. Are you comfortable here? Do you like your new dress?" Azalea grinned and pulled back, twirling around allowing Rhea to fully see the dress.

"Yep! Johnny;s already made me 20 and he's working on another!" Rhea glanced up to find that Johnny was indeed buried in mounds of fabric and ribbons.

"Wow, you're gonna have more dresses than teeth if he keeps it up."

"Do you want one?" Azalea asked excitedly, bouncing on her heels. Rhea's eyes shot over to the bright pink fabric that Johnny was measuring out.

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea. You see I have to fight those monsters, remember the ones I told you about?" Azalea nodded.

"The akuma."

Very good. I need to be able to move around. I'm so clumsy that I'd probably trip over the skirt anyway. Let's save the pretty dresses for you. They look better on you anyway." She smiled, ruffling the blonde hair, light gold in color now that it was clean.

"Oh! There you are Rhea!" Reever called upon seeing her, Rhea groaned and stood. "Komui wants to see you, he's got another mission for you."

"Well, so much for catching up on my sleep." Azalea pouted at her, bottom lip quivering slightly. "Now don't make that face at me. There are plenty of people here for you, just give them a chance, okay? You never know, you might find somebody you really like." She ruffled the girl's hair one more time before heading to Komui's office. She rapped her knuckles against the wooden door three times before she heard him call to her.

"It's open, Rhea." She pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside, closing it behind her with a thud.

"What's up?" She asked causing him to look up from his paperwork. "Oh my gods, are you actually doing your paperwork? And all this time I thought you were allergic to it." He gave her a dry chuckle in response.

"I need you to go to a small town in the Netherlands. It's between Rotterdam and Dordrecht. We believe there is innocence there. We've received several reports of people seeing a ghostly figure wandering up and down the streets. It doesn't answer to anybody no matter who it is or what they say or do. It just keeps walking, wailing as it goes. The church there has asked up to look into it. As it is, people have started disappearing which suggest that there are akuma in town as well. You are to go, retrieve the innocence, and exterminate the akuma." She nodded.

"Just me and a finder, right?" He nodded.

"Normally I'd like to send somebody else with you but we're spread thin as it is." He sighed. "Gregory will act as support." He watched as a grin spread across her face. "Now I'm trusting you two here, don't make me regret it. We do NOT need another Prague incident." As expected she burst into giggles. "Do you know how hard it was to convince them not to arrest you two?" They really wanted to."

"Aw come on. It was all in the name of fun." The grin was still there.

"I did NOT have fun."

"You should have come with us."

"No. You two need to behave. Do you understand me? **Behave.**" She watched as the vein in his forehead pulsed as he stressed the word. Slapping his hands down on the desk he stood to tower over her.

"Alright, alright. Calm down before you hurt yourself. We'll be good. I promise." She tried to placate him, motioning with her hands for hm to sit back in his chair and calm down.

"Please check in daily with Rhaps. Hevlaska says the winds of change are coming," she dropped his gaze, "I don't know what that entails but I'd like to lose as few people as possible." Rhea's eyes flickered up to her golem fluttering by her head and then up to the wall behind his head. Looking at anything that wasn't him. "I know Rhaps can connect with Timcampy at any time but please remember to check in with ME." She turned back to the golem again. Rhaps had been a gift from Cross a subtle way of telling them he truly cared about her and her brother despite all the trauma he inflicted on them. "Rhea?" She looked up at him, blinking upon realizing that he had said something.

"Sorry, I spaced out on your for a moment."

"I noticed. I was just telling you to be careful. We don't know what the Earl is planning."

"Of course. Is Gregory ready to go?"

"Yes, he'll meet you down at the waterway in five minutes." She nodded, heading for the door when he called out, "Don't forget to say goodbye to Azalea before you leave!" She waved at him over her shoulder. Rhaps flew behind her as she headed back to the waterway, Rhea's bag bouncing against her hip, before the golem decided that she didn't want to fly anymore and settled into Rhea's hair. She waved when she saw Gregory waiting for her.

"Hey!" He called, waving excitedly back. "Nice to see you again. I was beginning to think that you were mad at me. I haven't seen you in weeks. Spent my free time trying to figure out what I did." He laughed. She smiled at him. Rhaps flapped over to pump her head against his. "Yeah I'm happy to see you too Rhaps." He patted her gently.

"You should feel honored. She doesn't normally do that. Not unless you're me, Allen, or Master." He laughed again, smiling brightly at her.

"I never thought being a favorite of a golem would mean so much but here we are." She joined him in his laughter as they jumped into the gondola. He pushed them off.

"Funny isn't it?" Rhaps returned to Rhea's head as they made their way out. "As for being mad at you, no I haven't. I've not the time to do so. I've been running all over the place lately. Not to mention the recent crap with the stupid robot. Honestly what the hell was he thinking? I don't know about that man sometimes, I really don't. Besides if I'm mad at you then you'd know it."

"I heard about that. I wasn't here for it but I did hear about it. Sounds like you and your brother had a lot of fun." She snorted at him as he pushed them out of the waterway.

"Fun, yeah, That was totally it." The two chatted with ease as they waited for the train to show up. Not paying much attention as they leapt onto the train.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Gregory asked as they talked about their next prank and it's victim as they sat in their personal cabin.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you. It will be fun. I promise." Gregory laughed.

I'm just saying, Komui got pretty mad after what happened in Prague and may not laugh about it." Rhea tore her gaze away from the scenery to look at her friend and partner in crime.

"Nah," she waved her hand as if she had batted away his idea, "he needs to take a break and laugh a bit." He shook his head.

"Alright if you say so."

"I do and I'm always right!" He burst out laughing.

"Oh yeah? Okay sure! How many times have you gotten us in trouble?" She pouted, crossing her arms, and turned away from him again to look back out the window.

"Never!"

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, "What about the time we replaced Kanda's soba noodles with noodles we made out of jalapeno peppers?" A smile spread across her face.

"There it is! That's my friend!" She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"What?"

"Your smile. You haven't been smiling, not really smiling anyway. You seem sad. Is something wrong?" She shook her head though his eyebrows furrowed and a frown marred his lips. "You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" She nodded but he still frowned. It looked rather similar to Allen's disappointed look.

_"You shouldn't be lying to your friends." _And the voice was back.

_"I don't know what you're talking about."_ She paused for a moment. _"Or who you are."_

_ "Why are you lying to them?"_

_ "I'm not lying."_

_ Well you aren't telling the truth."_

_ "I am."_

_ "Not the whole truth." _It pointed out.

_"I don't know what you think I should tell them."_

_ "Well clearly you want to tell them something otherwise you wouldn't be feeling this way."_

_ "Are you gonna leave anytime soon?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Are you gonna be like this all the time?" _She glared.

_"Probably. Also he's still waiting for a response."_

"Of course I would tell you. Now if you truly must worry about something think about the mission. I don't suppose you have anymore information for me?" He sobered up as she asked about their job. Gregory dug through his bag, pulling out a folder.

"This is what we know. It appears at night, wandering through the streets. It doesn't stick to the same streets but never leaves town. It looks like a woman who's in mourning."

"Komui did say she was wailing." She watched him calmly, taking in his expressions. They hadn't changed since he talked about her smiling. The information was bothering him. Perhaps it reminds him of his mother, she thought, recalling the story he told her. His mother dying and then his aunt meeting the Earl. He couldn't stop it. He could only watch in horror as the skeleton murdered his aunt and his mother screamed in pain one final time. He could do nothing from the closet where he hid. She remembered the look in his gray green eyes as he told her.

"She is. Like a mother that lost her child."

Rhea though for a moment, "There are plenty of myths around the world about it. Lamia in Greek mythology, La Llorona from Latin America, and even The Lady of the Lake from Britain could be considered one. Many cultures have their own version of a white Lady. It's not natural for a mother to outlive her children, everyone understands that. La Llorona is probably the most famous of them." She crossed one leg over the other.

"I don't know any of them, other than Lamia. I'm not into mythology like you. But if they're anything like Lamia than I don't want to know. Lamia was disturbing enough. Hera needed help." Gregory huffed.

"Careful, she may hear you if you invoke her name." She teased. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"So she's wailing, can she talk at all?"

"All she does is cry."

"Can it be understood at all?"

"No." He shook his head causing her to nod.

"Well, I guess we'll find out when we get there. Did any of the finders locate the innocence?" Gregory winced and shook his head.

"No, we've been looking but they still hadn't found anything when I left to report to Komui and get you. It shouldn't take much longer. We started searching in a grid pattern before I left. Our limited personnel has slowed it down, but I've been gone for several days. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have found it by the time we get back." She snorted at his hopefulness.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Hey! I can dream, can't I?" He demanded pouting at her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well it can't be helped. It's also possible that when I enter the town the innocence will react to Harlequin. It has happened before." Gregory nodded.

"Wouldn't that be nice."

"Welcome Lady Exorcist, welcome back Gregory." Another finder was waiting for them at the station with a carriage.

"How's the search going?" Gregory asked but the taller man only shook his head. "Nothing so far. Oh and by the way, I'm Fritz. Your carriage awaits Lady Exorcist." She smiled at him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Fritz." He held the door open for her as she climbed in. Gregory sat in the front with Fritz, discussing the search and what had happened while he was gone. As the carriage began to move Rhea tied her braids back into a knot at the base of her skull before tucking the loose ends in. With her hair tied up she pulled her hood on. The ride through the forest took no time and Rhea didn't see any akuma, all in all it was peaceful, yet she could not rest even with the acoustic song the wind was playing with the trees.

"I've called everyone back so they can report to you." Fritz informed Rhea as she stepped out of the carriage. Dozens of finders stood in front of her. She missed Gregory's worried glances. "This way, we have a tent set up to collect all the information. I'll have unit leaders compile the reports for you. That should make it a little easier." She nodded. He introduced her to another finder but she missed his name.

"I can show you where we've looked already." He said seriously.

"Good." He rolled the map out over the table and started pointing to sections that had been drawn on the map in pencil. Several of them had large red Xs through them.

"These are the sections we've checked so far. Once we get the reports from the other groups that just came in we'll know more." She glanced down at the map, her eyes flicking over each square; they had made good progress. Closing them for a moment she prodded Harlequin into almost activation. She pouted when nothing happened.

"Alright, this is good. Why don't you take their reports, and then all of you should get some rest." She straightened up from the map, nodding at them as they bowed, and left. Rhea sighed once she was finally alone. She walked down the street silently, eyes darting around as she went. The town was quiet. Nothing moved around her, it seemed even the clouds stood still. A loud piercing wail shattered the peace of the night. Whirling around Rhea found what had to be the specter. The woman, stood taller than her, dressed in a long white dress with a lengthy train trailing after her. Her features were lost in the white haze that created her body. She walked towards Rhea, though she clearly didn't see the exorcist, and continued to cry. "Guess I better try." She moved into the woman's path. "Hey, Miss, can you hear me? Hey! Are you okay? Miss, can you hear me?" She waved her hands in front of the woman's face. The woman moved like she was going to walk through Rhea but fell short. She blinked and then stepped around her and then began to walk again. "Well that didn't work." She groaned, dragging her hand down her face.

"I found it!" A loud cackle caused Rhea's head to snap over to where a large spider like akuma clung to the side of one of the buildings.

"Damn it!" She cursed yanking Harlequin from her skin, "Innocence! Activate!" The whip cracked against the wall, the spider having jumped out of the way just in time.

"Ooh! An exorcist! It must be my lucky day~!" She glared at it and snapped the whip again. The spider jumped. "Hehehehehe! You aren't very good at your job! You led me right to it." Rhea kicked it away as it lunged for the ghost. "Aww, come on, aren't you going to talk?" She merely glared at it, snapping her whip again when it made another attempt. "At least beg for your life." It hissed furiously.

"Why would I do either of those things? I have no reason to fear for my life and talking to you kills brain cells with every word. So no, I don't think I will."

"Nasty bitch!" The large haughty spider hurled itself at Rhea. She flung her body out of the way at the last moment, throwing herself off balance. Her shoulder hits the stone street hard. Harlequin fell from her hand and bounced down the road.

"Fuck!" Large hairy legs came down, barely missing her head as she rolls out of the way. Rushing to her feet, she bolts for her innocence.

"Come back here!" It thundered after her, a woolen foreleg grabbing her boot, yanking her back.

"Harlequin!" Her fingernails just barely scraping the whip. As it liquefied the innocence shot forward, severing the leg as it separated the akuma from it's mistress. The innocence floated around her, preventing the akuma from getting close. It skittered near her trying to find an angle to attack from. Pulling herself to her feet she rubbed her shoulder.

"Well that's gonna leave a bruise; smarts too." She prodded the tender skin, hissing when pain shot through her arm.

"I was hoping you'd have more damage." It pouted for a moment before the grin returned. "Oh well, it just means that I get to have more fun with you."

"Ugh, do you ever stop talking?" She groaned.

"Rude!" Thrusting her hand forward, Harlequin flew through the air. The akuma swatted at it only for Harlequin to round back at it, this time coming from a different angle. The spider howled as it tried to defend from angles. It failed to notice when the innocence separated into several pieces. It sliced the one in its face in two. "Ha! I've destroyed your innocence! Your life is mine!" Spreading her arms out from her hips, Rhea smirked at it.

"That's what you think, ya muppet." Yanking her arms up and across her body the innocence flew in from four different directions, shearing the akuma into pieces. They fell into smouldering heaps on the ground.

"It doesn't matter, the 7,000 year prologue of the holy war is over. You're all doomed no matter what." The akuma hissed as it died. Rhea furrowed her brows in response. She didn't like the sound of that.

Sighing she shook her head, "Now where did that innocence go? Or for that matter where is it in the first place? I only ever saw the specter." Rhaps floated in the air next to her head, listening as she talked. "Guess I better go find her." She walked through the smoke that had been kicked up in the fight. Another piercing cry echoed through the night. "I guess it's that way." She sighed following the cry.

"Get back here you smokey innocence bitch!" A long haired figure came flying through the smoke. Rhea shrieked, high and girly, as her instincts kicked in. Their sword raised high in the air was rapidly flying towards her. Grabbing the blade before it hit her she flung it and it's wielder into the wall, shattering it and sending debris all over the place. "You'll pay for that you-" He paused as he finally saw who he had been attacking. Rhea blinked as her eyes registered who had almost beheaded her.

"Kanda?! Kanda! What the hell? What are you doing here and why are you attacking me?!" She snapped putting her hands on her hips while she glared down at him.

"You?! You're not supposed to be here!" He snarled.

"I could say the same about you!"

"I'm supposed to be here! I'm collecting this innocence!" He flipped himself over and got up, dusting the dirt from his person. "And you didn't have to throw me into a wall." Her eyes glanced behind him to where the wall had once stood.

"You attacked me! With your sword! What was I supposed to do? Let you take my head off?!" She demanded.

"I thought you were the innocence!"

"You don't attack innocence, you dumbass! You're supposed to collect it! Not destroy it!"

"I wanted it to stop running away!"

"So you fucking attacked it? You almost decapitated me!"

"So?! You're an exorcist! Defend yourself!" She groaned and started massaging the bridge of her nose.

"What piece of innocence are you even looking for?" He sheathed Mugen, a sour expression already on his face.

"What one do you think, Woman?"

Her eye twitched as she shouted, "How the hell should I know?! I can't read your fucking mind! Provided that you have one." He glared at her, not that it was anything new. She was used to it.

"The stupid woman who's crying all the fucking time!"

"But that's the one I'm looking for!" She grumbled, slapping her hand over her face.

"Well it's my mission!"

"No it's not!" She argued, stamping her foot.

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not! Now knock it off! Komui just sent me!"

"He called me earlier! Made me turn around and go all the way to Delf, but when I got there they sent me this way!" He snarled at her, as if everything was her fault.

"So basically Komui got lazy and didn't bother to check if it was the same piece of innocence causing the phenomena in two different places." She griped.

"Fucking sis-con!" Kanda growled.

"Don't growl at me! I'm not the one at fault here!"

"Well if you've been here for so long, then why don't you have it!"

"I got busy!"

"Because you suck at your job!"

"At least I can tell a human from innocence, you fucking moron!"

"What did you just call me?"

"I called you a," she started shouting in his ear here, "a fucking moron!" He smacked his head into hers as she kept talking, "Who's ears," she grabbed one, yanking on it as if it would come off, "it seems are purely decorative!"

"Stop pulling on my ear, Woman!"

"Why? It doesn't do anything!" He pushed her off him. She stumbled back but quickly righted herself.

"God! I hate working with you!" He turned on his heels, stalking back the way he came.

"Kanda!" She called.

"No!"

"Kanda, wait!"

"No!"

"Kanda!"

"No! I'm not listening to you anymore!"

"KANDA!" She hollered after him. He ignored her, stalking back into the mist that had settled during the night. "The innocence went this way." She sighed, turning her back on him and followed in the direction that the innocence had actually gone. "Stubborn asshat. Now where the hell did it go? I need to find it before the sun rises." She looked up. The sky was already starting to lighten. "Damn it! I shouldn't have wasted so much time with that dunderhead." Rhaps seemed to be entertained. She glared at the golem through it had little effect, with the way her bottom lip stuck out. "You aren't helping." She huffed, crossing her arms as she stalked away.

* * *

Rhea woke in her tent to yelling. The people of the town were terrified of the innocence and blamed them for it. They didn't care that the finder and exorcists worked for the church and were trying to rid the town of it. They would not host them. SO they had set up a large camp made of a myriad of large tan tents. Groaning, she rolled over on her cot and dragged the blanket higher up until they were over her head. Still the yelling continued. She pulled her pillow out, wrapping it around the back of her head, plugging her ears with it; but still, the yelling penetrated her head.

"Fucking hell! I can't even get any sleep out here, in the middle of nowhere!" Throwing her blanket off she yanked on her boots, grabbed her jacket, and went to find the source of the yelling and throttle the person responsible. It had been past dawn when she got back to the camp.

"Lord Exorcist," a finder pleaded, it looked like Fritz, "please calm down and lower your voice-"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Her eyes narrowed, she knows that voice. She definitely knew that voice.

"Please Lord Exorcist," he tried again, "Lady Exorcist is still sleeping. She needs rest."

"Well wake her the fuck up! We don't have time for her to be sleeping!" Fritz straightened up to his full height, a good several centimeters taller than Kanda, though it didn't faze the exorcist.

"You can wait." Fritz snapped, clearly having grown tired of Kanda's attitude. "Lady Exorcist is sleeping."

Rhea interrupted the conversation, "Not anymore." She walked up, fixing Kanda with her evil stare.

"About fucking time you woke up!" Kanda snapped while Fritz turned to her completely ignoring Kanda.

"Lady Exorcist, I am SO sorry. I tried to let you sle-"

"She doesn't need any more sleep! She needs to do her job!" Kanda butted in once more.

"-Ep." Fritz finished, glaring at Kanda out of the corner of his eye.

"It's fine Fritz. You did the best you could. Do you have any coffee?" She looked up at him with large pleading eyes, and a small smile.

"We-"

"Goddamn it Woman! We don't have time for your fucking addiction!" Kanda snarled. Rhea turned towards Kanda and immediately punched him in the face. The hit, completely unexpected, sent him flying back over several tents before he crashed into the ground, skidding to a stop with a face full of dirt. She smiled in satisfaction while Fritz whistled, with a healthy amount of fear and respect, at the distance she had gotten. She turned back to him, hopeful expression back in its place.

"So, coffee?"

"We do indeed have coffee. Gregory called right before he picked you up and we gathered the best coffee in the area." He smiled widely at her. She returned the smile. "Right this way." He led her away from Kanda and towards a different tent where she could already smell the heavenly beverage.

* * *

Kanda glared at her over his cup of tea as she finished off her seventh cup of coffee before she finally addressed him, "So why are you here?"

"What kinde of stupid question is that?! I'm here for-" She cut him off by throwing her spoon at him.

"I know you're here for the innocence, Dummkopf!" He arched an eyebrow at her but she ignored him and continued, "I meant why are you here," she tapped her index finger on the table they were sitting at for reference, "in this encampment. I would assume you had finders of your own on the other side of town from the way you came."

"We did, but it was stupid to have two different camps across town so we came here and pooled together what we know about the innocence." He grumbled.

"And?" She prodded.

"It's not in the forest on my end. Nor in the outskirts of town. We'll add the finders that came with me to yours. They'll cover more ground that way."

"Good. Hopefully today we can finish the grid and find the innocence."

"Have you checked the forest?" She shook her head at his question.

"Nope!" She popped her p, "That's what you and I are going to do today." He groaned at her words. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the forest with her, of all people. On second thought, his mind supplied, it was better than being with the beansprout. He still didn't want to do it, however he knew that she would give him no choice. He was going into the woods with her whether he liked it or not. If he didn't she'd probably drag him by his hair.

"And if I refuse?" He snarled.

She smiled sweetly at him, her eyes narrowing slightly, "Well then I guess I'll just have to show everyone those lovely pictures I took of you the other night. You looked so pretty with your hair in that fancy braid and your make up on." He glared at her, willing her to spontaneously combust on the spot.

"You wouldn't."

"Ahhh," she sighed taking another sip of her coffee, "but you know I would. You're not the first nor will you be the last." His hand fell to Mugen's handle but the smile stayed on her face, daring him to rise to her challenge. "Go on. Do it." Sukling, he pulled his hand away.

"Fine. Hurry up so we can get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover and I'm not going to baby you the way the fucking Golden Boy does." Her smile disappeared, replaced with a sour expression, her lips pulled down.

"I don't need you OR Zack to baby me." She got up abruptly, knocking the table with her hip. His tea tipped over, spilling across the table. Her coffee cup was empty. "Let's go." She turned away, already heading for the forest as she buttoned up her jacket. Grumbling he got up and followed her.

* * *

The forest was thick and dark despite it being mid morning. The canopy of the trees blocking out the sun. Only small shafts of light made it through the foliage, lighting the forest. Kanda followed several steps behind her. Without a word to each other they veered off in separate directions. Mid morning changed into late morning which turned into early afternoon and then late afternoon. As twilight fell Rhea found Kanda again.

"I'm fucking sick of this damn innocence! Where the hell is it?" Kanda demanded.

"Stop yelling in my ear! I'm not doing it!" She yelled back. Kanda opened his mouth again, probably to say something rude, when a piercing shriek permeated the air. "There, I'm guessing." Rhea answered with a deadpan expression. Kanda shot her a sour look before running towards the sound, Rhea hot on his heels. Another scream sounded, this time closer. "Can you see it?"

"Not yet!" Rhea felt Harlequin warm up, as if sensing it's kin.

"It's got to be close! Harlequin can feel it!" She shouted to him. Kanda, in his usual Kanda fashion, grunted at her rather than answering. He skidded to a stop but neglected to mention to her why. Realizing that Kanda had stopped too late, Rhea crashed into him and they went tumbling off the cliff.

SPLASH! They hit the water and sank beneath its surface. Rhea reemerged first, choking up the water she had swallowed. Wiping the water from her face, trying to cear her vision she looked around for Kanda. He hadn't followed her up.

"Kanda! Kanda! Kanda! Where are you? Kanda! Answer me!" Gasping, she dove back down into the water. Her eyes searched the water for her friend. Swing around in the water was harder than it was on land. One of her braids floated into her face but she smacked it away. She returned to the surface for air before plunging back under. Something caught her eye at the bottom of the spring. She swam towards it. To her dismay it wasn't Kanda. Her fingers wrapped around it before she resurfaced. She dragged herself out, coughing up the rest of the water she had swallowed. Shivers began to wrack her form as her wet cloths clung to her as she looked at what was in her hands. "Great! Just great!" She stood, wringing her braids out. "Now not only is it not Kanda, but it's Mugen. Which means that if Kanda finds any akuma then she's screwed! I hate this mission!" She growled though she didn't set the sword down. She looked at the river than ran from the spring and sighed, "Kanda must've hit the current and got swept away. So he's probably down river." Rhaps fluttered by her head though making sure she stayed dry. "Rhaps, connect ot Kanda." She ordered as she stalked along the river bed. All she got back was static. Groaning, that sounded more like a whine, she kept walking. "Jeez, how far could he have gone?" Nobody answered her. "Kanda! Kanda!" She cupped her hands around her mouth, "Where are you?" Picking up her pace she began jogging down the riverbank. "Kanda if you don't get your ass out here I'm gonna tell General Tiedoll that you miss him and want to spend father-son time with him!" She pouted when she got no response. "I'm going to cut all your hair off!" Nothing. "I'm giving Mugen to Allen! He's gonna melt it down and turn it into a pot for Jeryy to cook dinner with!" She gave up after that. If he didn't respond to any of them then he couldn't hear her.

Night had fallen and Rhea still hadn't found Kanda or the innocence. Her body shook and she stumbled, her foot catching on her calf before she crashed to the ground. She pushed herself back up and kept walking. Rhaps flew over to her, bumping into her head.

"Huh?" Rhea looked around for a moment before realizing what happened. "Oh. 'm fine." She slurred, tucking her numb fingers, which looked a little funny to her, under her arms. It was mildly warmer there. "What am I looking for again?" She paused. "Never mind." She shrugged. Rhaps bumped into her head again. "Stop that." She pushed the golem away.

"I'm fucking sick of this damn innocence! Where the hell is it?" Kanda demanded.

"Stop yelling in my ear! I'm not doing it!" She yelled back. Kanda opened his mouth again but something out of the recording screamed, "There, I'm guessing."

Rhea jumped as Rhaps played the clip. She could see herself arguing with Kanda. Oh yeah. She had been with Kanda.

_"Little One?"_ She whirled around and around until she tripped and fell back down to the ground. _"Are you okay?"_

"Who're 'ou?" She didn't get up.

_"That doesn't matter right now. You need to get up."_

"Dontwananananana." Her words jumbled together as she tripped over her own numbed lips.

_"You need to. What about your friend?" _It could hear the gears whirring in her head as she tried to think of a response. _"You need to get up."_

"Cant. Mussles wonuld't mov."

_"Get up!"_

"Nun uh." Rhaps grabbed the end of her braid and yanked. Whining loudly she forced herslef to her feet, feeling as if she was pushing Sir Komlin, whatever that was, up hill. She staggered inot a cave, that was lit up. Her eyes landed on a blurry figure with long dark hair. She stumbled towards it before collapsing, darkness consuming her vision.

* * *

"Wake the fuck up!" Rhea groaned and came to in a dimly lit cave.

"Stop yelling. Please."

"Fucking hell, Woman!" She sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked at Kanda who sat next to her. "I've been waiting for you to wake up for over 24 hours! What were you thinking? You staggered in here with a stupid grin on your face and fell over crashing into me. You were ice cold!" Slowly the memories came back to her.

"I was looking for her! You just vanished in the water!"

"You hit me so hard that I got caught in the current and went down stream. I couldn't find you or Mugen." She looked over to see that he now had the sword laying next to him. The fire crackled merrily, their jackets hanging up near the fire. She noted how close they were, feeling the heat coming off of him.

"Well, at least I remembered to take it with me when I started looking for you." She sighed. "Did you start the fire and dry me off?" She tilted her head to the side.

"Che, if something happened to you, then I'd have to listen to that damn beansprout." Kanda turned away from her. Getting up to see if their jackets were dry just so he didn't have to look at her.

"Thanks." He ignored her, tossing something at her.

"Here. Your stomach's been growling for hours. It's pissing me off." She opened the bag, curiously. Inside was a mix of nuts, small pieces of chocolate, pretzels, sunflower seeds, and raisins.

"You were carrying this?" He didn't look at her.

"One of the damn finders forced it on me before we left. That's all." Smiling she started eating it. As soon as the food hit her stomach she realized just how hungry she actually was. Kanda didn't say anything or even look at her while she ate.

"Did you find anything on the innocence?"

"No. I lost it when we fell over the edge of the cliff." He grumbled at her. "You should go back." She almost didn't hear him. She looked down. Her fingers were still discolored.

"After we find the innocence. We can rest when this is over."

"You're just going to be underfoot." He snapped but she ignored him, pulling her warm boots back on and retrieving her jacket, now dry, and slid it on. He followed her out, tugging how own jacket on as they went.

"I'll be fine. Let's just find the innocence." As if being called by Rhea the woman appeared just outside the cave. She wailed upon seeing them. "Well we found the woman but where's the actual piece? Rhea complained. The misty woman turned on her heel and walked into the forest, the long train of her white dress dragged along the soft green grass.

"There you are!" Both exorcists groaned as the akuma appeared all around them, activating their weapons. The innocence kept walking.

"Go!" Rhea turned to Kanda who had yelled. "Go! I'll deal with them! Follow it before we lose the damn thing again! I've got this! Now go!" Mugen was already slicing through the level 1 akuma like butter. Nodding at him, she ducked under a level 2, swinging a large blade at her head, and chased after the woman who continued weeping. Rhea thundered after her, farther and farther into the forest. She slowed to a walk when she came to the clearing where the ruins of an old church stood. It reminded her of the town that she had been in with Lenalee and Allen but these ruins had moss growing on them. The woman was gone. Walking over to the crumbling archway that lead into the chapel, she inspected it curiously, Harlequin floating around her calmly.

"Built in 1472." She whispered softly. The words etched into one of the stones of the column on her left, at eye level. She traced the words with the tip of her finger lightly. She stepped into the inside wasn't much better. Large chunks of the roof littered the ground allowing the moonlight to stream in. The wooden pews all rotted away, the fabric that once decorated the walls, shredded and torn apart. At the far end of the church stood an old large pipe organ. "That thing's got to be ancient." The woman appeared by it, crying still. "Is this where it is? The innocence is in the organ?" Sitting down on the bench after tentatively making sure it wouldn't give way beneath her weight, she pressed one finger down on a single key. The organ groaned for a moment before the correct sound rang out. Slowly she tapped other keys. A broken, off-kilter melody resounded from the organ. Dark and mournful, Rhea kept playing, eyes glazing over slightly. She started humming along. Words just out of her reach. As the melody ended, she stood up. She knew where the innocence was. A single pipe always reverberated hauntingly, as if it was blessed by the angels. "Harlequin, up." The liquid slid under her feet until she was even with the pipes. When she laid her hands on the middle most pipe, it illuminated green and resonated. It was safe in the hands of an exorcist. "Down." Slowly she was set down, the melody still playing in her head. She hummed along with it as she walked back, the pipe, now securely tied to her back, glimmered green, almost flickering in time to the tune.

"Did you find it?" Kanda demanded as soon as he saw her. She didn't answer, merely continued murmuring. He grumbled but followed her back to camp. He tried to talk to her several tiimes but she never responded.

"Rhea!" Greagory ran up to them as they returned to camp. He stopped short upon seeing Kanda's unwavering glare focused on her back. "Did something happen?"

"We found the fucking innocence but the damn Woman's decided to be nuts at the moment." Kanda growled.

"Does it have something to do with the pipe," Gregory paused watching Rhea walk away and examined the pipe on her back. "Is that an organ pipe?" Kanda growled in response.

"I don't give a damn what it is. Just take it away from her." He stalked away beofre pausing. "And do something about her blue fingers. The color is pissing me off." He snapped. Gregory ran after Rhea.

"Rey!" She only hummed. "Rey! Please listen to me! Rey!" She kept walking, whether she was going ot her tent to the town he didn't know. "Rhea, please answer me." Finally he went to his last resort. Yanking the pipe from her, he jumped back. He could feel the power in it and watched as the almost greenish color faded from her skin. She swayed slightly before steadying herself.

"Ugh, what happened?" She asked.

"You were acting weird. What happened?" He questioned though he didn't let her get any closer to the pipe.

"I remember finding the dilapidated church and then the organ. The keys still worked and then it's all fuzzy. I don't think you should touch it either." She could see the green tint showing in his skin. "Give it here."

"No!"

"Gregory, give it to me!"

"No!" He backed away, clutching the pipe to his chest.

"Gregory," She warned, growling and holding out her hand for it, "Give. It. To. Me. Now." Her eyes narrowed at his expression. "Harlequin." She snapped her fingers and the innocence stole the pipe from him. The green faded and he blinked a couple times.

"What just happened?"

Rhea sighed, "It appears that this piece of innocence has almost a hypnotic effect on those who touch it." She glanced at the piece still wrapped in Harlequin's clutch. "I think it's best that we make a covering for it. If we don't have physical contact, I think we'll be fine. For now, Harlequin will hold it at bay." He nodded at her words.

"I'll have somebody get right on it. Please don't touch it again though. You really freaked me out. You also royally pissed Lord Exorcist off." He grinned at her cheekily at the last part though she didn't miss the worry still present in his eyes.

"Well I better go deal with that." She waved at him and turned to go find Kanda.

"Be careful! He was pretty angry!" He called as he went to go find somebody to make the covering.

* * *

"You want me to what?" Rhea demanded, keeping the phone in place between her shoulder and ear as she jotted down the new directions. Komui sighed.

"I need you to go to Belgium."

"Why?" She whines. "Komui, I wanna go home!"

"I know, I know. You want to see your brother, I know. If anybody understands this, it's me. I miss my dear sweet Lenalee all the time but I need you to check something out."

"What about the innocence?" She groaned slumping against the wall, the phone cord not allowing her to go any farther. Rhaps fluttered, holding the cord for her.

"The cover has been made?"

"Yes." He could hear the petulant tone in her voice and picture the pout on her face.

"Then Kanda can bring it back."

"Why does he get to go back?" She whined some more causing him to moan.

"Because Kanda can't do what I need you to do!"

"So," he could hear the resignation leaking into her tone, "Why am I going to Belgium?" She heard Komui sigh deeply, her eyes narrowed. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"We've lost contact with General Yeager. I just want you to check on him."

"So, basically, I'm going because Harlequin can get me there faster than any train, carriage, or other form of transportation."

"Yes." Komui pushed his glasses up. "I hate asking this of you, Rhea but the finders I have in Belgium can't find anything. I believe something has happened. If it hadn't then he would have checked in by now. He said he would when he got to Belgium. You can cover more ground with Harlequin than the finders. Plus, you've always said that Harlequin can feel the other pieces of innocence. Maybe it will lead you to General Yeager."

"Alright. I'll leave immediately." Her voice was soft and somber. "Is Allen okay?"

"He was injured on his last mission but he's recovering quickly. That's what Bookman is saying. He and Lavi are there. Lenalee required Bookman's acupuncture treatment due to the nerve damage she suffered." Rhea could swear that he was hiding something from her.

"Komui," she paused causing him to sweat and then continued, "is there something you're not telling me?"

"I need you to be careful, Rhea. During Allen and Lenalee's mission in Germany, they met a Noah." Rhea sucked in a large breath of air. Her lungs felt empty and she struggled to keep her whirling mind from telling her body that they couldn't breathe. "The Noah are a group of humans who side with the Earl. According to Alle, the girl had strange powers. I'm going to meet with Bookman to find out more about them and oversee Lenalee and Allen's treatment. They may need their innocence repaired. I won't know till I get there."

"Okay. I'll go check on General Yeaher. Just promise to take care of my brother for me. Please." He nodded, though she couldn't see it.

"I will. Allen is safe in my care."

"Thank you." She was just about to hang up when he spoke again.

"Rhea, I cannot stress this enough, be careful."

"Understood." She hung up and sighed. "Come on Rhaps. I guess we're going to Belgium. Better go say goodbye to Gregory."

* * *

The flight to Belgium was easy, the distance was nothing compared Harlequin's extraordinary speed. Rhea flew high over everything. The wind blowing by her at high speed though she felt nothing of it. Her thoughts were consumed by the thought of the mysterious lan and the plans they had for her brother. Her master's ill omen playing over and over in her head. Rhaps clung to her hood, as Harlequin hurtled through Belgium, desperate not to fall off and get lost. Reaching back she plucked the tiny golem from her hood and tucked her under it instead. The golem nuzzled her in response. Sighing she dropped to the ground, Harlequin sliding back up her sleeves. She grabbed the first person she saw and prayed that they spoke English.

"Hey! Have you seen an elderly man wearing a coat like mine only with gold instead of silver? He's got long white hair and blue eyes?" The man blinked at her for a moment. "Do you speak English? I really need to find him."

"I apologize, Miss." He offered her a quick bow. "I was just startled. You rattled that off rather quickly. As for your question, that man passed through here a while ago. I would check the next town over." She nodded at him.

"Thank you so much! Have a good day!" She ran off before he could respond to her. Rhea followed the General's trail through several towns. Landing in each one she asked the same question over and over.

"Yes! I saw a carriage with that," The woman pointed to Rhea's chest and the Order's mark, "crest on the side on the road to the next town. I saw people moving inside it so I didn't stop. That was just earlier," she smiled cheerily at Rhea. "I just got into town. I'm here to meet my fiance. I'm so excited." Rhea nodded and smiled, silently hoping the woman would get back to the carriage. "He's-" Rhea interrupted.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I really need to know, you see the man traveling in that carriage is," She didn't even pause as she lied, "my grandfather. He forgot his medicine when he left home. I really must get it to him." The woman smiled, buying the lie fed to her and changed topics.

"Yes, the carriage is either still on the road or in the next town. He won't have gotten farther than that. I hope your grandfather is okay."

"Me too. Thank you so much!" Rhea was gone before the woman could reply. She looked around, trying to see which way the strange girl had gone. It looked like she just vanished.

"You're welcome...?"

Harlequin flew along the road. Rhea struggled to banish the knot in her stomach, to find the hope that the general was okay. Optimism was Allen's department, not hers. Her eyes darted around searching for the dark carriage. For the general. For the finders. For anything. Anything that could tell her where the General had gone or what had happened. She soon found herself on the outskirts of what looked to be a factory town. Harlequin dropped her on the road and she walked in. Lying on it's side, with one wheel still spinning was the carriage she had been looking for. She rushed over, jumped up and flung the door open.

"General Yeager? Are you in here?" The carriage was empty. "At least I know they were here. I wonder what happened." She kept walking, leaving the carriage behind. She found the finders first. Both dead. Kneeling down she examined them both. The first one, covered in stab wounds, though they were perfectly round. She studied them for a moment before moving on to the next finder. Physically she could find nothing wrong with him. No wounds or even any blood. It was as if his heart had just stopped beating. The backpacks of both finders were untouched. She stood and started looking for the General. She stepped in something. Looking down, she saw red. Squatting down she dipped two fingers in, rubbing the liquid between her index, middle finger, and thumb. Rhaps flew over to her. "It's blood." She told the golem. "There's more over there." Straightening up she followed the path of blood further into town. Nothing moved around her. It was clearly dead, if not before then certainly after the battle had started. "I doubt they'll come back." She still couldn't shake the heavy feeling that had settled in her chest.

In the middle of town, she found what she was looking for.

A large cross hung in the middle of town. Thick cables held it up by attaching to other buildings. It was an odd choice in her opinion but it didn't matter. Tied to the cross was General Yeager. Rhea stiffened, sucking in a deep breath. His upper body was bare with his tattered exorcist cloak hanging around his hips. He was facing towards the cross. Words and a large cross carved into his back.

"Innocence," she couldn't bear to speak it's name, not this time, "activate. Up." Slowly, as if sensing the distress of it's mistress, it slid down her arms and under feet, carrying her up to where the man's body dangled. Upon closer inspection, she read the words on his back. "God Matter." An even closer look allowed her to see that he had not been tied to the cross but crucified. Blood dripped from the nails in his hands and feet. "Let's get him down." She pulled the first nail from his hand. As she reached for the second one he gasped loudly. "General?! You're alive?!" He didn't answer her, merely screamed in pain. Rushing to free him she extracted the remaining nails and lowered him gently to the ground. He looked up at her but clearly didn't see her, or anything. "Harlequin, the backpack!" The innocence shot back towards the finders to grab one. Rhea pulled out the roll of bandages she had in her pouches and wrapped his bleeding hands. "General Yeager can you hear me? If you can hear me at all nod your head." He remained motionless yet she could still hear his shallow, gasping breaths. The backpack landed in front of her. She dialed the phone.

"Communi-" She cut them off.

"This is Exorcist Rhea Blackwood put me through to Komui!" There was a pause, only a moment but it was too long. "NOW!" The person on the other side jumped but did as they were told.

"Rhea? What happened?!" He sounded started and out of sorts.

"I found General Yeager. It's bad Komui. I'm rushing him to the nearest hospital but I need you to send me whatever unit of finders is closet! The finders that were with him are dead. If I don't hurry he will be too. I have to go!" She slammed the phone back onto the receiver and took off again. The general lay safely in Harlequin's embrace while Rhea scanned the map of Belgium she had picked up, her eyes desperately looking for the sign of a hospital. Finding the nearest one, the innocence flew at top speed, the only thing moving faster was Rhea's heart.

Waiting was the hardest part. Still she sat in one of the chairs, knees curled up to her chest, in the waiting room. The hospital had been warned that she was coming with a critical patient and had been waiting for her with doctors and a stretcher. They had rushed him away and she had been banished to the waiting room. Some time later a small group of finders showed up. One sat down next to her. She was only half listening to his report. The finders bodies had been recovered along with the two metal packs. All nine pieces of innocence was nowhere to be found. Most likely destroyed. It wouldn't do any good. She knew they had been destroyed. A doctor stepped into the waiting room.

"You can see him now." Rhea jumped up and rushed over only for the doctor to grab her gently with a hand around her bicep. "I should warn you, he's not doing well. I," he paused, taking a deep breath, clearly trying to prepare himself mentally for what he was about to say, "I don't think he's going to make it. I've never seen anything like it."

"Like what?" The finder by her side asked.

"It appears as if, as if he's missing organs. When I listened to his heart to determine the state of his condition I could barely hear it and when I finally did find it, I found it beating erratically and weakly. This combined with his odd breathing suggests that he's missing a lung. It's just gone, yet there were no wounds that it could have been removed from. I don't know what to make of it." The finder stopped breathing, she heard it. Then he sunk down into one of the chairs.

"I want to see him." Rhea told him. The doctor nodded.

"Of course. Just remember what I said. Unless the Lord miraculously heals him, he doesn't have much time left. Make the most of it." Quietly Rhea followed him, leaving the finder behind, to the room. She was grimly surprised to find that he was not laying in the bed but sitting up in a chair in the corner of the room. He was covered from head to toe in bandages. Only the bottom of his face and one eye was visible. His right arm sat in a sling with his left one hanging limply by his side. All of his hair was missing. Biting her lip, Rhea steadied her resolve and stepped into the room, walking over to him.

"General Yeager? Can you hear me?" She asked. She got no response. Just as before he merely stared off into space with his one good eye. "General Yeager?" She took a deep breath. "Kevin Yeager!"

He shuddered, and then started singing, "Lord Millennium is in search of you," his voice shook as he did it. The words coming out unsteady and slightly slurred, "Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true!"

"General Yeager?" Rhea questioned. "General, are you trying to tell me something?"

"Lord Millennium, is in search of you," his vocal cords were clearly intact yet raw from screaming. "Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news?" Tears began to well in her eyes as the man continued to sing. "I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?" As he finished she shook the tears away. Willing them away. She would not let herself cry. This wasn't Allen. She wouldn't let this happen to Allen.

_"Little One?"_

"General? Please speak to me." She tried again.

"Lord Millennium is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true!" Rhea reached out and gingerly set her hands on his shoulders.

"General?" She shook him lightly but he kept singing.

"Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?" Rhea pulled back. She got no response. She sighed and pulled away. Clearly the man was gone, mentally. She wouldn't get any answers from him. A norse brought her a chair and she sat with him, one leg crossed over the other with her hands on her knees, silently listening to him as he sang. "Lord Millennium is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true! Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?" Doctors, nurses, and even a couple finders came and went from the room but Rhea just stayed where she was. "Lord Millennium is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true! Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you? Lord Millennium is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true! Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you? Lord Millennium is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him. I'll see if it's true! Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?"

Over and over he continued the song. He sang on and on before the words died on his lips. Silently Rhea, stood, walked over to him, and pressed two fingers to his throat she searched for a pulse. She found none. Stepping out of the room she informed a nurse and then asked for a phone. Rhaps picked up the line without direction.

"Hello?" Komui picked up, the weariness evident in his voice.

"General Yeager is dead."

* * *

"The song is ended, but the melody lingers on."

**― **Irving Berlin


	4. Attack of Robots and Octopi

**Hello my darlings, I'm back once more! My life is still as hectic as ever. Hopefully things will calm down soon. I will admit that I am struggling with some relationships and my own bad memories of people who are no longer around. However it is not all bad. Recently my estranged older sister. We were close when I was younger but after a large family argument we went our separate ways. As we have both gotten older we have decided that life is too short and we both made mistakes in the relationship. I cannot change how other people act but I can change how I act so I am doing my best to be proud of how I respond to the world and the people in it. I'm hoping that due to our similar interests and tastes my sister will be able to help me with a few decisions that I have to make in the near future. I wanted to post this on Halloween as it is still Rey's birthday but I was sick, which really sucked as it is my favorite holiday too, no it was not from eating too much candy, I actually didn't have any candy because of it. I just managed to catch some bug. I spent most of the day sleeping. This chapter took so long because half way through Rey decided to not cooperate and I was stuck for days before finally figuring it out. Anyway enough of my babbling, on to the reviews.**

**Dear Alexc1209, Yes, things have gotten real. I thought I would change things up and introduce Rey to the true war a bit earlier. I actually happen to love the song. I often find myself singing it whether it's at work, in the shower, or while I'm cleaning or folding laundry. I've freaked a couple people out with it. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Dear TheNewGoldberg, I'm so excited to have a new reader! I hope to get to know you more and hear what you think of the story, Rey, and everything else. I hope you continue to read it and be a big fan of it. Enjoy!**

**Dear Puella Lector, Thank you so much for your high praise. I can't tell you how much it means to me. I read through my old chapter as I write the new ones and spend most of the time cringing and I wondering how anyone started to read it in the first place but I guess we all have to start somewhere. I hope I continue to keep you thrilled and you enjoy every minute of it!**

**Dear Wolfs child, It's a bit more complicated then that. The innocence speaks to Rey on a different level than it does to others. Rhea is musically inclined and if she hadn't bonded with Kindred and this piece would have chosen her as it's wielder. It likes the way her mind works but can't destroy the bond she has with Kindred so it's kinda trying to hold on to her. Does that sound weird? Probably. I wish you good luck at the baby shower and if it's already happened I hope it went smoothly and you had a good time. Yes the pranks will come around more when Lvellie and Link come around. I've got a long list of things for her to do to them. They'll never know what hit 'em! As for the love interest well it's best to just wait and see. It's all up to her. Somethings will stay the same and other things will change. Enjoy!**

**Dear Arkytior's Song, It is not too early for the spoilers answer! We're only four chapters in! It's the perfect place for the spoilers answer! If I tell you everything right now then there's no point in writing the rest of the story! You'll already know everything and that's not any fun no is it? You're just going to have to be patient. It will be good for you. It builds character! Yeah Kanda and Rey are an interesting mix and you should pity the finders with them. Or anybody stuck with them. They're both absolutely awful. Kanda is rude and Rey gives it right back to him. She's not gonna take any of his shit! Yeager didn't deserve what happened to him, you're right but that was Hoshino's doing not me! I didn't do that, so don't blame me. Thank you so much. I'm much better now and it doesn't bother me at all anymore which is good. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear 15th, Hello my beloved 15th *in creepy Earl voice* I have missed you so! And yes you get to hug Rhea! Lots and lots of Rey hugs for you. Only Allen gets more but nobody can compete with Allen. Komui was probably just doodling on the paperwork so it looked like he was doing it otherwise yes it is a sign of the coming apocalypse and we should all be prepared! Yeah Rey and Kanda tend to get on each other's nerves and then it just keeps going and going and then things start breaking and exploding and it's all very messy. But they are a lot of fun. I laughed as I wrote it but jeez these two swear a lot. Mostly at each other. I have no idea why but they egg each other one. Yes you should pity the finders. Pity them for they now know so much pain. They need all the pity they can get. Rey has none and Kanda has even less. He's so mean! Me?! How am I mean? Komui sent her to look for Yeager! However it plays a part in her life and is important. However though she may try Rey is not ready to take on Tyki and Road. She would definitely get herself killed, though she would totally try. I had a version where she get there in time to save general Yeager and meets Tyki and Road there and it was interesting to say the least. I swear she has to self preservation instincts though she sure does know how to confuse all who meet her. XD But it wasn't meant to be. Don't count on the sleep much, I basically live off coffee and sugar. It's what works. Sleep is for the weak. I can hear colors. *casually sips coffee* So I have a question that I really would like for you to answer. Are you psychic? Seriously, if you are tell me! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Sometimes burning your hands with fire

or your throat with whiskey is the only thing

keeping yourself from burning your mind with your own poisonous thoughts

of things you had no control over.

To keep from burning your heart with pain that is not your own.

To keep from burning your soul with the cruelty that humanity is capable of.

* * *

**A scream penetrated the air. Rhea woke with a start, head whipping around, quickly untangling herself from the white sheets clinging to her body. Rhaps shot up off her pillow, startled by her mistress' sudden flailing. She turned, titling her body to the side, silently to question what had woken the girl.**

**_"What's wrong?" _****The voice was back. It always was.**

** "You didn't hear that?" She demanded, flinging the sweat soaked sheets off and getting up. Walking over to the window with silent steps she glanced out it. She swore she could just barely make out a figure in the fog. Her heart was pounding against her rib cage as her chest heaved.**

**_"Hear what?"_**

**"That scream!" The voice was quiet for a while after her answer. She began to question if she had finally chased it away.**

**_"Child," _****it paused again, silent for another moment. She could count the heartbeats between it's responses, ****_"nobody screamed."_**

**"Yes they did! I heard them!" She got dressed, yanking on her jacket before she left her room. "How the finders slept through that, I don't know but I guess I'll deal with it."**

**_"You should go back to bed, Little One."_**

**"No. I need to find that scream. It sounded like an old man."**

**_"Little One, nobody screamed. This isn't like you. Go back to bed. You need more sleep. You're still tired from your last mission. You were sick, do you remember that?"_**

**"Only a little bit of it. Mostly it's fuzzy. Probably best." She grumbled as she left the hotel. Her boots clacking against the ground. Rhaps flew just slightly behind her. She buttoned her coat up all the way, trying to shield her body against the harsh winds blowing through. She paused to pick up what looked like a broken part of a pearl bracelet.**

**_"You got too cold after falling in the river."_**

**"Yeah," she sighed, glaring at the ground as she did so, "that sounds about right. Gods I hate the cold."**

**_"You don't seem to react well to it." _****The voice seemed to be amused.**

** "I'm so glad that my pain brings you joy. It fills me with joy. Just so much fucking joy." She hissed at it.**

**_"You really should get some more sleep. You need more time to recover."_**

**"I'm fine. I'm just gonna look for who screamed." She could hear hurried footsteps bouncing around the streets.**

**_"Nobody screamed. It was a dream, Little One."_**

** "No it wasn't. I didn't dream. I was just dead to the world. I would remember it if I had a dream."**

**_"It was a dream. Your brain isn't remembering it because you don't want to. You dreamed of the general-"_**

** "Stop it! Stop it! Don't go there! That's not what happened!" She shook her head, long hair flying around. She started grumbling about it and started to braid it. "I can't believe I was in such a rush that I forgot to braid it. If I had been attacked, I wouldn't have even been able to see." She tucked her braids up under her hood, protecting her ears from the wind.**

**_"You were dreaming of what happened to him. Of how you found him."_**

** "Stop!" She demanded. "I said stop." Her voice dropped into a whimper and the footfall ceased as well.**

** "Lord Millennium, is in search of you," Against her will her mind began to play the song again. "Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news?" She bit her lip, trying to free herself from the song. "I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?"**

** "Stop it!"**

**_"I'm not doing it. You are. Your subconscious is trying to tell you something. It wants you to learn, you can't change what happened. The general is dead. There's nothing that can fix that. You must come to terms with it," _****she made a face at the voice and the plain facts it stated. They stung. ****_"However,"_**** it continued seeing her expression, ****_"you can learn from what happened. You can learn and protect those you love. Life is teaching you a lesson. Don't make it reteach you. "History repeats itself." is a saying for a reason."_**** Rhea sighed at the voice.**

** "I know, I know, I know." She sighed. "Jeez you sound like an old geezer. Got a lot of pent up advice to give?" She snorted.**

**_"I'm not going to dignify that with a response."_**** She smirked.**

** "You just did." The voice was silent after that. Rhea couldn't dismiss the smug feeling she got from beating the voice. She ignored the part of herself that pointed out that the voice was a part of her, though what part she did not know, and she was basically arguing with herself and that she should probably get her head checked. She brushed it off, running her fingers along the pendant of her choker. The soft velvet of the necklace soothed her, despite it being wrapped around her neck right against her skin. She could see the light from the sparse street lamps bouncing off the pendant as she walked.**

** Once more her mind started, "Lord Millennium, is in search of you, Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news?" She bit her lip harder, trying to free herself from the song. "I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?"**

** "That's it. I need a drink." Veering down a different street, she headed for the nearest bar. She was no longer sure if it was her own feet she heard or somebody else's. "Definitely need a drink." Despite it being the early hours of the morning, the bar was still open with quite a few patrons inside. She walked up to the bar and sat down. "Whiskey, don't care what kind, neat." She told the bartender. "Please." She tacked on when she realized she forgot it. The bartender nodded though she could still feel his burning gaze on her. Could be that she still had her hood on, that she was a woman, or just her jacket in general. She was still wearing her exorcist jacket.**

** "I'll have the same as the lady." A new voice appeared on her left side. Her eyes darted over to that side. The man sat down on the stool next to her. Two glasses were slid over at the same time. She snatched hers before the man's fingers even touched his, downing it all in one go. "Wow, you're jumpy. Everything okay?" The man asked, brushing his blond hair back out of his eyes.**

** "Why?" She eyed him carefully.**

** "You downed that rather quickly. Something happen?"**

** "What's it to you?" She narrowed her eyes, twisting on the stool to watch him more attentively.**

** "Just curious. It's not often I see a pretty girl down an entire glass of whiskey in one go." He paused to take a sip of his own. "It's good whiskey too." He noted more to himself rather than her. "It's a rather beautiful sight." She arched an eyebrow at him as he continued, "So I asked once more, is everything okay?"**

** "Weird night." She gave in. There didn't seem to be any harm in telling him. The man flagged down the bartender at that.**

** "Another one for the lady please."**

** "Oh? She responded, a rather unimpressed look on her face, "Are you paying?" He nodded.**

** "I'd be honored to buy you a drink."**

** "And what do you expect in return?" He laughed at her question.**

** "Nothing at all, though I'd be quite pleased if you'd sit and chat with me while you drink it." He smiled at her brightly. It seemed to light up the dim room. Unable to help it, she smiled back.**

** "I suppose that I can do that. I haven't had any company in a while. Been traveling on my own for a bit." She brushed her bangs out of her face. The bartender slid her whiskey over.**

** "Where were you going?" He kept the smile on his face.**

** "I was looking for somebody..." she trailed off, as the memories came rushing back. Sensing her mood he changed the subject.**

** "So what are you doing now? A pretty girl like you must have plans. A beau to go back to, perhaps?" His dark eyes glittered as he asked. Rhea snorted and took a sip of her whiskey, this time not drinking the entire glass in one swallow.**

** "No, hardly. Trust me that's not going to happen anytime soon." He grinned at her.**

** "Oh? And why not?" She swore he was inching closer.**

** "I'm not that type of girl. I doubt I'll ever get married."**

** "Really? It's not the day you're dreaming of?"**

** She scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Hell no. I don't need anybody. I am quite capable on my own."**

** "Ah, a Queen Elizabeth type of girl. Do you have a job, then?" She nodded.**

** "Yeah. I work for the church." Rhea tapped the rose crest on the chest of her jacket for emphasis.**

** "So you're a good Christian girl." She glared at him, while wrinkling her nose with a sour frown on her face. He chuckled at the look of absolute disgust on her face. "No?"**

** "I loathe the church. They lie and deceive and believe themselves about the rest. They call themselves holy and pretend that they are not just as depraved as the rest of us lost children," she placed air quotes around the words lost children, "that they say they'll save and guide to the promised land. Often those that claim to be holy are the worst." She downed the drink again, trying to wash the sour taste from her mouth. Her companion waved for another drink to be brought over. She nodded her ****appreciation**** to the bartender.**

** "It's so nice to find somebody who isn't a mindless sheep. SO many people refuse to think for themselves nowadays. It's refreshing to find a wolf rather than a sheep. They're so much more interesting."**

** She raised an eyebrow at him, "A wolf, am I?"**

** "Oh yes. A lovely one at that. You have the most captivating stare." Against her wishes, her cheeks flushed and her eyes darted away from his. It was too dark for her to pick out the exact color of them but they were appealing.**

**_"Are you blushing, Little One?"_**** The voice resurfaced.**

**_"I told you to be quiet."_**** She hissed back at it.**

**_"He's being awfully nice."_**** She sighed at it's words but did think back to what the man had done and said to her.**

**_"I hate when you're right."_**** She groaned. Rhea waved the bartender over. She smiled at him. "May I have a glass of water?"**

** "Of course, Ma'am." He rushed off to get it, nodding at her before he did so.**

** "Thirsty?" The man asked.**

** "Yes." She answered, leaving out the part that she didn't trust him, "Whiskey is nice and all but it should be balanced out."**

** "Beautiful and smart. You continue to fascinate me."**

** "Oh really?" The glass of water is set down in front of her. Reaching back into one of her many pouches she pulled free several herbs. Crushing them in her hands she allowed the course powder to settle in the drink before she mixed it together.**

** "An herbalist as well? Will you ever stop surprising me?" She drank the water quickly, throwing it back. Her eyes drifted around the bar, looking for anything of interest. They landed on a group of men huddled in the corner. Rhea could spy a deck of cards on the table.**

** "Who knows." She answered, getting up, leaving the bar picking up a shiny coin from the floor first. She heard him chuckle as she walked over to the group. "Whatcha playin'?" She asked, allowing her rolling drawl to return.**

** "Poker." One of them answered gruffly.**

** "Have room for one more player?"At this they all looked up. She watched with hidden mirth as they finally registered that she was female.**

** "You gotta pay to play, Girly." The first answered.**

** "Isn't that how poker works in general?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side casually.**

** "Alright Girly, but you don't get to cry when you lose all your money. And you will pay, one way or another. Got it?" She smiled at them, innocently.**

** "Of course. Now deal me in." She could still feel the other man's eyes on her but she ignored him. This would be more fun and more profitable. She watched the man dealing carefully as she sat across from him. She picked up her cards, face completely blank.**

** "****_Little One,"_**** the voice paused for a moment, ****_"what are you doing?"_**

**_ "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm playing a card game. It's completely innocent."_**

**_ "Child, I know you. Innocent is not even in your vocabulary. Never mind in your abilities."_**** The voice scoffed and she could see them rolling their eyes.**

**_"Rude!"_**** She pouted at it. ****_"No go away. I need to concentrate and I can't do that while you're yapping in my ear."_**

**_ "Fine. Just don't do anything your brother wouldn't approve of."_**** It huffed.**

**_ "Please! If I never did anything that Allen didn't approve of we wouldn't be here."_**

** The voice sighed, defeatedly, ****_"At least don't do anything you'll regret."_**

**_ "No promises."_**** She grinned at it before picking up her cards. She resisted the urge to furrow her eyebrows. Damn, this is all shit, she cursed silently. She held the Jack of spades, 3 of diamonds, the King of diamonds, 7 of hearts, and the 2 of spades. What the hell am I supposed to do with this shit? Ugh, I didn't want to start off with this but I guess I have no choice, she groaned.**

** "Alright Little Girly, how many cards do you want?" She smiled at him and snapped her cards closed before tossing them into the discard pile.**

** "I'll take a whole new hand, thank you. Try to give me something that doesn't suck, would you Dear?" She watched as one of his dark eyebrows twitched slightly. The blond on her right chortled discreetly, though whether it was at her comment or her 'bad luck' she didn't know. She dismissed the thought and watched the rest. The blond took one card, the brunet on her left took two. The leader, with raven colored hair didn't take any. She closed her eyes as she focused on her cards. She knew what she wanted. Enough to win without making them suspicious of her treachery. She picked up her cards once all five were handed to her.**

** "Call," the blond threw four more coins into the middle. Rey watched him carefully.**

** "Raise." She answered easily, tossing more coins into the pile. They all looked at her, grins on their faces.**

** "You sure ya wanna do that, Girly?" The leader asked.**

** "Did I stutter?" She retorted, crossing one leg over the other.**

** "Don't ruin her fun," the brunet tutted at his cohorts. "I call by the way."**

** "Fine. I guess that means it's my turn. I call." He also placed his money in. They went around and around. The blond was the first to fold. Then the brunet. Stubbornly the leader stayed in until it was just him and Rhea.**

** "I guess it's you and me." Rhea smiled at him pleasantly.**

** "Show me yer hand then." He demanded, from the twitch of his left eye she knew that he didn't have a good hand.**

** "Full house. Jacks over sevens."**

** "Fuck! Straight, nine, eight, seven, six, five."**

** "I guess I'm just lucky." Rhea easily swept the pile of money towards her, ignoring the leader's staring at her. Rhaps sat on her shoulder, recording it all. The cards were passed around and again. She folded that hand. Instead opting to watch the men play each other. She knew they hadn't been expecting it. This time it was the blond vs the brunet. Maybe I should learn their names, she hummed before dismissing the thought. Her eyes flicked over to the blond whose ears were turning red at the tip. The cards were laid down. The brunet won with three of a kind. Eights, she noted. The next hand wasn't much better. They were definitely counting cards. A random mess was in her hand once more. This time she bluffed the first round away. Then the second. She folded along with the blond. The leader was forced to stop watching her and focus on the brunet. Both she and he zeroed in on the man swallowing.**

** "Call." The brunet put the money in.**

** "Raise." The leader smirked. He had this, she could tell. The brunet swallowed again.**

** "Call."**

** "Raise." They went round and round. The brunet swallowed once more before the hands were shone. The leader beat the brunet's three of a kind with a straight of clubs. Rhea smirked as the next hand was dealt. Shit as usual. Still she smiled at them. She still had garbage. She managed to scrounge together two pairs with soft, stealthy fingers.**

** "Call." She breathed easily.**

** "I fold." The brunet sighed, tossing his hand into the discard pile.**

** "As do I." The leader also dropped his hand.**

** "Raise." The blond spoke.**

** "Call." She responded.**

** "Raise."**

** "Call."**

** "Raise!" His eyes narrowed at her as he took deep breaths, the tips of his ears, burning.**

** "Call." Rhea ignored his glare.**

** "Fuck it! I fold!" He threw his cards on the pile while she once again swept the money towards her. She took the deck, as it was her turn to deal. Feeling just a bit mean, she startled shuffling the cards, mixing all kinds of tricks and complicated techniques in as she went. They watched her with wide eyes.**

** "I'll take one card, Girly." The leader traded his card and she gave him another one.**

** "Three." The blond had been curt with her ever since their showdown.**

** "I'll take two, Sweetheart." She forced herself to calm down. The nicknames were really getting on her nerves. They had been going all night. She pushed her annoyance away as she slid four cards down her sleeve to sit atop the deck, where she would draw her own cards for the hand. It was her and the blond once more.**

** "Full house!" He spoke triumphantly. Several other patrons shushed him but he merely gave them the middle finger before turning back to Rhea. "Tens over twos."**

** "That's a decent hand." She noted, nodding her head, with a pout on her lips. He reached for the pile but her hand snapped out and stopped him. "However," she drawled, dragging the word out, "it's only decent. Four of a kind. Queens." She lead her own cards down once more. He dropped back into his seat as she put the money away. They played round after round. The deck was once again passed to her. More complicated techniques flourished with her nimble fingers.**

**_"Little One, is it not considered immoral to cheat?"_**** The voice returned, clearly having been watching the game from her mind.**

**_"They were cheating first. They've been counting cards from the beginning. Besides, it's fun to watch them play each other."_**** She retorted, defending her choices, though she noted that the brunet was swallowing frequently.**

**_"Is that why you fold every so often?"_**

**_ "Yep! It's entertaining to watch how quickly friendships crumble in the face of money."_**

**_ "I think, I am now concerned about how you feel about money."_**

**_ "I don't see why. I just like money. Who doesn't? You can't live without it. They say the best things are free but I don't get what they mean. I've never gotten anything for free. Now hush. I'm about to pull off a magic trick."_**** She grinned at it as the bet came to her.**

** "Raise. I'm all in." She could see their eyes gleam at the large pile of cash she pushed into the pool. All three slid their own piles in before cards were flipped. The brunet had nothing, having been bluffing the whole time. The leader dropped four of a kind with nines while the blond had two pairs. "You boys just don't know when to quit. Royal flush, spades." The cards glinted in the low light as she spread them across the table. "Well I do believe that ends our time together, as you're all out of money." She pocketed the cash, a grin pulling at her lips. "Have a good evening." **

** The leader lunged for her, "You bitch!" He swung his fist in her direction, aiming for her face. Sighing she swung out of his way and hooked her foot around his ankle sending him flying into a different table.**

** "Learn to know when you're beat. It'll save you some day." She walked to the door. Just as she was leaving the bar, she bumped into a man on his way in.**

** "My apologies." He said as he steadied her.**

** "No need. I should have been watching where I was going." She smiled up at him. He glanced behind her.**

** "It appears I've upset your beau." She didn't glance at the blond who had bought her drinks, still sitting at the bar.**

** "We're not courting." He didn't notice her wandering fingers, still focused on the glare he was receiving. "Thanks for catching me though." She chirped as her fingers closed around his wallet and slowly withdrew it back to her side. "Have a good evening." She pulled out of his grasp and stepped out of the bar.**

** "You too Miss." He tipped his hat to her and then shut the door behind her.**

**_"Did you just steal that man's wallet?"_**** The voice asked incredulously as she walked down the road, a slight skip in her step.**

**_ "He wasn't using it."_**

**_ "He will when he gets to paying the barkeep."_**** The voice responded with as much snark as it could manage.**

**_"Oh well, that sucks. I hope he's good at manual labor." _****She giggled. She could picture the voice glaring at her and felt it's will fluctuate for a moment.**

**_ "That's rude, Little One."_**

**_ "But I want it more than him."_**

** "I found her!" The gleeful call of the akuma ended the conversation.**

** "Really? Can't you go pester somebody else? Maybe design a new hat for the Earl? His last one was stupid." The akuma shrieked in rage at her suggestion and a hail of bullets fell upon her. "Harlequin, activate!" The innocence slithered from her extended arm, shielding her from them. If she hadn't known better it would have sounded like rain. A level two rushed her, ready to kick her in the stomach. Wiht a flick of her coated fingers she extended the shield to cover her front too. The akuma howled as it's foot met the innocence and started to burn away.**

** "Damn you, Bitch!" It held it's burned limb tightly. Grabbing a handful of her innocence she snapped it out, tearing through several of the level ones and the level two that had gone in for the kill. Darting left and right she avoided the next barrage of bullets. She could see the stars spreading everywhere she went. Bullets piercing the ground where she had been standing moments ago leaving a zig zagging pattern on the road.**

** "Stop missing! Actually shoot her! We have our orders!" A different level two bellowed at the others. Ironically it looked like a playing card. Two of the seven diamonds made up it's eyes which was rather creepy to her. "Carry-" She snapped the whip at it. It just barely dodged, falling to the side. "Rude! I was talking."**

** "I don't give a damn. I want you dead." It's eye twitches violently.**

** "That's it! The rest of you stay out of it! I'm taking care of this bitch all by myself!" It shrieked.**

** "Oh boy." Rhea groaned rolling her eyes. The diamonds on it flew off the face of the card and straight at her. She dove out of the way, rolling back onto her feet with ease. The diamonds sliced through the wall behind her, destroying it completely. The card was blank for a moment before seven more diamonds reappeared in the old ones place.**

** "Fire!" The new diamonds soared at her, spinning like tops. She danced through them, being careful of where she stepped while she did that. True to the order, none of the other akuma attacked. She leapt over another group of diamonds. One of them slicing her cheek open. Blood dripped down her skin though she ignored it. Her body would make more, she reasoned. The whip snapped against the cobblestone again and again but the akuma moved with the wind, always out of the innocence's way. "You can't beat me with your puny whip." It declared haughtily.**

** "Fine. You know what they say: there's more than one way to skin a cat." The whip melted back over her hands and arms until they were covered in armored gauntlets up to her elbow, four inch long talons tipped each finger. They gleamed wickedly in the moonlight.**

** "Your innocence can change?" It demanded, backing away from her slightly.**

** "Yeah, duh." She rolled her eyes again.**

** "No matter," it shook off the initial shock and started boasting once more. "Doesn't matter! You can't get close enough anyway!" She leapt before it could argue anymore. The akuma just barely dodged. This time there was no air current to ride on and the exorcist was right there. Her claws pierced through the top corner of the card. "Get off me!" It thrashed about in her grip but she only tightened her fist and grabbed the bottom with her other hand.**

** "Quit screaming." She ordered. It didn't stop.**

** "Release me! Release me now! Master will be very displeased if you kill me! He'll come after you personally!" It shouted, trying to save it's own hide. Rhea ignored it's pleas and ripped it in half. The dark matter vanished as the soul was freed. Her eye was caught by a silver necklace with what looked to be a diamond pendant.**

** "I do hope that the rest of you aren't going to fight me one on one," she drawled looking around at the akuma that surrounded her, one foot set on the very top of the roof as she pocketed the necklace. The level ones rushed her. "That works." She shrugged hurling herself at the closest one.**

* * *

** It was late when Rhea had finished up with the akuma. She left the road as it was, covered in dust and stars. She had yawned the entire way back to her hotel room. Even the strange voice in her head seemed tired. Neither spoke, the only sound around them was Rey's heels against the uneven cobblestone. It was silent when she passed through her own door, she made sure she didn't wake the finders staying with her. She kicked off her boots and tossed her jacket and belts across the room onto the chair and fell face first into the bed, only bothering to snuggle under the blankets. She was asleep before she could even think of how tired she was or notice the figure across the street hidden in the fog. Nobody had the courage to wake the sleeping exorcist so she slept and slept, enjoying the blissful darkness.**

** "What the hell do you mean, "Stay for another day"? Seriously Komui! What the hell?!" Rhea demanded cradling the phone between her shoulder and face. Her hands were occupied with her seventh cup of coffee. The finders had informed her that she had slept for 36 hours straight that Komui had called her multiple times but they had opted to let her sleep. Needless to say she was not happy with what he had to tell her.**

** "I want you to stay in that town for another day. It's very simple Rhea." He sighed from his end of the phone. "Rhea, you slept for 36 hours. You are clearly exhausted. I want you to take a little time off and relax."**

** "I don't want time off Komui! I want to go home!"**

** "It will be good for you." He argues.**

** "I don't give a damn!"**

** "Now, Rhea, it's rude to curse at people."**

** "It's also rude to tell them they can't come home." She snipped back crossly, sipping her coffee with a sour expression on her face as she leaned back against the wall that the phone was attached to. The rest of the inn occupants moved about their day, unaware of the girl's growing ire.**

**_"Child, murder is not the way to get what you want."_**** The voice soothed, hoping to do away with the images of a bloody Chinese man laying all over a paperwork covered floor.**

**_"No, but it would make me feel better."_**

**_ "Until they separated you from your brother so they could charge you for murder."_**** It countered. She glared but tuned back into whatever it was Komui was saying to her.**

** "I really think that you should just rest for awhile and get out of the stuffy Order." He rambled on, waving one hand around.**

** "Komui," she groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, "the Order is in a castle which is about as far from stuffy as you ccan get. What are you hiding from me?"**

** "Hi-hiding? Why would you ask that, Rhea? I'm not hiding anything from you." He stuttered, sweat dripping down the back of his neck. He forced himself not to gulp though he dud pull his collar away from his neck, suddenly feeling trapped.**

** "Komui," she growled lowly, 'what happened?"**

** "Nothing! Really it's fine. Everything's great here!" He tried to whistle happily.**

** "What happened to Allen?"**

** "Why would you say that this is about Allen?"**

** "Komui," she warned. He wouldn't get another one.**

** "Rhea, I think it's very important that you and your brother heal separately. I have no doubt in my mind that you two will both forgo your own health in favor of each other's so I want you to wait another day before you come home. The less of you we lose in battle the better the chances of the world. Just take this day off, please." She groaned, letting the whine in the back of her throat build. Komui winced as the loud noise came through the phone. She was doing it on purpose. "Rhea, please!" he begged, having no idea how he could force her to do it.**

** "But Komui-"**

** "I know you miss your brother but this will be for you. He'll focus on getting better himself rather than trying to take care of you." Rey pouted and slumped further down the wall rumpling the fabric of her indigo waistcoat, having decided against her exorcist jacket sin****c****e she was being forced to take the day off.**

** "Fine." She scowled petulantly. "Just so you know, I hate you."**

** "That's fine. Just enjoy today, and come back late tomorrow night. But for the love of everything take it easy for the day."**

** "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She hung up on him. She could see the two finders studiously ignoring her. Her eyes narrowed. Those traitors. They knew. They had to know, she thought. Still she had been ordered to take the day off. How she would spend it she didn't know. "I can't go back to that bar. I don't think I've been forgiven of my sins there." She snorted, tapping her bottom lip as she sat down at the table with the finders for breakfast though it was probably more of a brunch considering it was almost afternoon if the whistle of the train that had just pulled in was anything to go by. The door opened without warning. Several patrons turned to stare while others ignored the newcomers almost immediately. Rhea poured some honey into her tea. It was still steaming hot. She had yet to drink any of it. Small coughs drew her attention once more. She looked over to see the little boy coughing, the man leaning down next to him, rubbing his back soothingly. His stringy brown hair kept her from seeing his face.**

** "You okay, Eeez?" The man asked gently. Both looked up when a warm cup was offered to Eeez.**

** "Drink this. It will help, I promise. The tea will soothe your throat and the honey will coat it lessening your coughs." The man looked at her worriedly, taking a half step towards her but Rhea only smiled at the boy, from where she crouched in front of him. Slowly his small fingers wrapped around the cup and he took a slow sip and then another.**

** "It's good." He says, voice still rather hoarse. "Sweet, I like it." She watched him silently for a moment, letting his aura wash over her.**

** "How did you know that would work?" The man asked, as she finally straightened up from her position.**

** "It's not working, it will help. It's not a permanent solution. How long has he been sick?" The man blinked at her owlishly for a few moments.**

** "How did you know?" She smiled gently, though he noticed the mischievous glint in her eyes.**

** "Ah, well that's a secret. The doctors have had no luck, I'm guessing?"**

** "Yeah, they don't know what's wrong. Just that it's something with his lungs." He seemed suspicious of her, which, when she thought about it, was understandable.**

**_"Little One, what are you doing?"_**** The voice spoke up, for the first time in the morning, though it had raised an eyebrow when she put Harlequin in Rhaps once more. She ignored it.**

** "Oh, I could tell by his cough and the fact that if doctors could help, you would have already taken him there."**

** "Yeah, we tried that first."**

** "We?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. She watched as his beady black eyes scan her. No doubt taking in her nice clothes though tomboyish in style, but scuffed boots, her braids that fell down her back which were clean but messy with hair sticking out of them, then up to all the jewelry in her ears, and no doubt the cuts and bruises that were visible. She was probably the first woman he had ever seen wearing something so skintight. She knew she was an unusual sight to be sure.**

**_"What are you thinking, Little One?"_**** The voice asked while the man continued to examine her, not leering, but more like one would watch a wolf or a tiger.**

**_"I wonder if my eyes freak him out. It wouldn't be the first time."_**** She answered back, shifting her weight to her right leg.**

** "My friends and I. We take care of Eeez, here." The man finally replied, having decided that she wasn't a danger. He was wrong, of course, but she wouldn't tell him that. Admitting that she could snap his neck before he could blink probably wouldn't get her the results she wanted.**

** "How charitable. It's not easy to take care of a small kid. You're miners, right?" He stared at her again, clearly rethinking his earlier assessment of her.**

** "How'd you know that?" She smiled, closing her eyes and waving it off.**

** "I can smell the coal on you. Plus you've got coal dust all over your jacket and Eeez, is that right?" She tilted her head to the side again as he nodded dumbly. "Anyway, he's wearing a doctor mask, which would keep him from breathing in the coal dust and making his lungs worse." He blinked at her.**

** "That was really good." Eeez commented in his small voice. She squatted back down to be at his level.**

** "Why thank you, Eeez. It's really all about looking around and taking in your surroundings. Always be aware of what's happening around you. It may save your life." He nodded enthusiastically before he started coughing again. She rubbed his back sympathetically and handed him the cup again. "Drink some more. It will help."**

** "Thank you." He coughed out before drinking the steaming liquid. She stood back up and turned to address his guardian. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to help."**

** "The doctors said that modern medicine couldn't help. That it wasn't enough." She crossed her arms loosely.**

** "Ah, but I m no doctor. I'm an herbalist. We treat things that doctors say can't be done. Well anyone who knows what they're doing can. I am in fact one of those. Sometimes the answer is in the past." He narrowed his eyes at her and raised a brow.**

** "How much would you want for it?" She could hear the skepticism in his voice as well as his two other companions coming back. She glanced down at Eeez still drinking the tea. Then returned her gaze to the man.**

** "Nothing."**

** "That can't be true. Nobody does anything for free." The other two joined the conversation.**

** "What's free?" The tallest of them asked.**

** "More importantly," the one wearing the knitted hat spoke, "who's the cutie?" The tallest cuffed him upside the head but Rhea merely giggled as she prodded their auras. The one that spoke seemed fine, a bit dull perhaps, but meant no harm. Yet she paused at the taller one's. There was something about it. A dark speck floating in it. A small dark cross almost hidden among the other lighter colors.**

** "She claims she can cure Eeez." The man she had been talking to explained.**

** "For free?" The tallest asked, though she couldn't read much of his expression with the large glasses he wore. Perhaps for that very reason.**

** "Yeah. Is something wrong with that?"**

** "Missy, nobody does things for free." He leaned closer to her and she noted that despite his bedraggled appearance he didn't smell bad. In face she could still detect the faint smell of the soap, spicy in aroma, he had used though most of it was covered by the scent of cigarettes. He was still smoking as he spoke. He seemed surprised when she was unfazed by the smoke in her face. A different brand than her master's but cigarette smoke was cigarette smoke. She felt a twinge of longing for the man, though she quickly shook it away.**

** "Some people do."**

** "They secretly want something." He countered.**

** "I just want to help."**

** "We can't pay a doctor's fee so if that's what yer lookin' for-" She cut him off, pushing him out of her face, smile still bright, ignoring his complaints of her fingers smudging his glasses while her palm smushed his nose.**

** "As I already told your friend I'm not a doctor. Do I really look like a doctor?" She asked suddenly. All three shrugged.**

** "You look like ya got money." The one with the cap answered.**

** She laughed, "Haha, my job requires that I dress nicely but I'm broke. Money comes and it goes. Nothing you can do about it." She shrugged with her own words. "Anyway as I was sayin' before I got distracted," she didn't notice that she had dropped her proper English in favor of her normal drawl. "I'm not a doctor, I'm an herbalist. I don't specialize in medicine but I'm a very capable healer and I could fix his cough effortlessly but as his guardians I'd need your permission. Feel free to talk it over. I need more coffee." She turned and walked away to get more coffee.**

** The three watched the strange girl as she poured more coffee into a rather large mug, "Well," Clark started, "do we believe her?"**

** "It's a pretty lofty claim." Momo put in. "What if she's wrong and poisons him?"**

** "She helped him when he first started coughing when you two went upstairs. She gave him some tea with honey, or that's what she said was in it. I didn't see her make it but he said it helped.**

** "Do you even know her name?" Tyki asked, puffing out a cloud of smoke, as he looked in the direction of the odd young woman.**

** "It, uh, didn't come up." Clark rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.**

** "A pretty girl walks up and starts talking to you, of her own fee will no less, and you don't ask her name?!" Momo shouted only for Tyki to stomp on his foot.**

** "Keep your voice down!" He hissed. "She's right over there." Despite the yelling she didn't turn towards them, still busy with whatever she was doing to her coffee. He wondered how long it took for this girl to make more coffee. Maybe she was drinking it over there, allowing them to talk. He glanced at the strange dark silver thing flying by her head. It had been with her when he walked by the first time. What it was, he had no idea. A bird, maybe, he thought. He felt the memory shift restlessly in his mind and he pushed the memory away. "Can we get back to the question at hand? Do we trust her to help Eeez or not?"**

** "I saw we do it. Nobody else has been able to, so maybe it's time to turn to alternative medicine." Clark gave his input.**

** "Well, I say we need more information on her first. If Eeez dies, that's on us!" Momo argued.**

** "We can trust her."**

** "We don't know her."**

** "We didn't know any of the other doctors."**

** "They had degrees."**

** "Those can be bought or forged."**

** "In an office?!"**

** "Yeah!"**

** Tyki groaned into his hand, "This isn't helping. You two need to stop fighting." He could already feel the headache behind his eyes, a product of their arguing and the memory's sudden agitation. None of them noticed Eeez walk over to the woman.**

** "Miss, I'd like your help please." Rhea knelt down to his level, ignoring the three men who were still bickering.**

**_"Are you going to tell them that you can hear everything they're saying, or not?"_**** As per usual she ignored the voice. It wasn't being helpful anyway.**

** "Oh? Is that okay with your guardians?"**

** "They're gonna argue about it a lot. I don't want them to fight." He answered. She nodded, though she had been making coffee, she had also been watching them. Taking in their ratty clothes, the way they carried themselves, the way each one spoke, and their facial expressions. She glanced over at them again, the tallest was clearly the leader. The other two waited for his decision. Though he seemed to care what they thought, there was a carefree element to him that told her that when he wanted to leave he did and the others followed. A rather unbalanced relationship.**

** "Do they do this often?" She jerked her head in the direction of the quarreling adults.**

** "Not always," he shook his head, "but when they do it goes on for a while."**

** "That must be tiresome."**

** "It's okay but I don't want to be the cause of it." He looked down at the floor.**

** "You're not the cause of it." She giggled, "I think I am. However I'd be happy to help you. I need to get a few things from my room but you can sit at this table," she picked him up and set him down on the top of her table, having waved the finders away while the men were squabbling. "And I'll be right back. Here, drink some more of this." She handed him another cup of tea, which she had made along with her coffee, which now sat on the table next to the boy, rapidly cooling. She ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Her jacket was still flung over the back of her chair but she ignored it and grabbed her bag. The argument was still going on when she came back. She took a moment to sigh and shake her head at them before returning to Eeez, sitting on the table next to him. He watched in fascination as she began mixing different plants into the small bowl. Finally the men noticed the boy was missing and stopped their fighting to join him in his curiosity.**

** "Eeez, how long have you been over here?" The tallest asked.**

** "Finally decided to join the world of adults, did we?" Rhea asked as she added something else to the bowl. He sighed once more, dragging a hand down his face.**

** "Er, yeah." He replied lamely, now realizing how stupid they must've looked.**

** "Only a few minutes. I didn't want you guys to keep fighting about me." Eeez answered, not meeting his gaze.**

** "Eeez it's not your fault, we just couldn't agree." She barely glanced at the brown haired man who responded, ruffling the boy's hair. Most of the patrons had cleared out so only a few saw the argument that had happened.**

** "Yeah, Clark was just being dumb." The one with the knitted cap answered, bumping his shoulder into Clark's.**

** "All done!" She cheered, setting down her pestle before another argument could break out, drowning out whatever response Clark had.**

** "It looks like a bunch of leaves crushed up into a powder." The tallest was still smoking as he spoke. Rhea rolled her eyes at him.**

** "That's because that's what it is, Genius."**

** "If we wanted to feed him grass we could have done that ourselves." He argued.**

** "It's not grass. Grass wouldn't help him at all." She retorted, clearly rolling her eyes for him to see. "Now before you get snippy with me," she said as if it hadn't already happened, "it needs to be made into a tea. Stop pestering me, you may not like what follows if you do." She pushed him out of her way, the force causing him to stagger back a couple steps. Scooping Eeez up in one arm and the mortar in the other and strode into the kitchen. The innkeeper's wife noticed her and the three men trailing behind her though two were snickering and the other was scowling.**

** "You can't be in here." She stated firmly, walking over to them, though they could all see the look of disgust on her face at the men's appearances.**

** "I just need to borrow your stove, please." Rey spoke easily, already making her way over to it. The kettle was grabbed and filled up.**

** "Miss! I said you can't be here!" The innkeeper's wife argued, her dark eyes glaring at the young woman. Rhea set Eeez down on one of the counters. "Miss! Are you listening to me?" She snapped. Rey went on ignoring her. "Don't touch that!" The tallest pulled away from a platter of cheese sitting innocently on one of the tables.**

** "Whoops. Sorry." He singsonged, though Rey could tell he wasn't sorry in the least.**

** "We just want to make some tea." She explained, sitting on the counter by the stove.**

** "Get off there!" The woman's face was quickly turning red. "You can't just barge in her and do as you please! Now, leave my kitchen immediately!" Rhea crossed one leg over the other and pulled her file out, fixing one of her nails that she could see was uneven.**

** "You know," she stared, focusing on her nail and not the woman, careful not to file the paint off, "it would be a shame if your husband knew you were sleeping with the baker." Her green eyes flicked up to see the woman turning paler and paler. "I'd hate to have to be the one to tell him. It would be awfully awkward. I doubt you'd get anything. He'd probably kick you out onto the streets. You wouldn't be able to get any work. Well except, perhaps, as the town whore."**

** "You wouldn't!"**

** "I would. Believe me, I would." Her tone was deadly serious. There was no mirth in her eyes, just hostility. "Unless of course you let us use your kitchen for maybe half an hour and make our tea and then we'll happily be out from under your feet." She was back to a sunny smile.**

** "Of course. Just clean up after yourselves and," she glanced over again, "don't eat that!" Once again the tallest was eating the cheese. Rhea picked up a spoon.**

** "Oi! Specs, behave!" The spoon flew from her fingers and nailed him in the head. He jumped back, one hand clutching his head.**

** "Ow! That hurt!"**

** "Do that again and it'll be the kettle." She warned. He pouted and rubbed his new sore spot but didn't touch the cheese again. His two friends fell over into fits of laughter. "See?" She turned back to the woman, "Perfectly fine. I've got things under control, we'll make our tea and then leave." The woman sneered at them before turning on her heel and stalking out of the kitchen. Specs, as he had now been dubbed, whistled lowly as she went.**

** "Now, how on Earth did you know that?" She looked up at him from her nails. And blinked innocently as if she had no idea what he was talking about.**

** "Know what?"**

** "That she was having an affair with the baker." The other two nodded with his question.**

** "Oh that." She seemed uninterested, going back to her nails. "Bakers don't deliver their bread and when they do, it doesn't take half an hour. Unfortunately for me, she's rather vocal as well, abysmally early in the morning. The innkeeper probably already knows but doesn't want a scandal. Could ruin his business but she doesn't need to know that. She's still obviously hiding it from him."**

** "Ahh," The three men said together.**

** "More importantly," Specs came over to lean against the counter that she sat on with his hands in his pockets, trying to look casual, "Specs?" asked, looking rather put out but she was laughing too much to care.**

** "Yeah, what of it?" She challenged.**

** "Of all the things you could've called me, you picked Specs?" His friends had just started to calm down.**

** "Well yeah." She said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It suits you." He stared at her for a moment and she swore she could see the smoke coming out of his ears. Immediately Cap and Clark, if she was recalling right, burst back into giggles.**

** "How does that possibly suit me?"**

** "Ya know, you ask a lot of questions."**

** "You're a curious girl."**

** "Is that a compliment?"**

** "It's not not a compliment."**

** "Oooh bad grammer, that oughta get a girl to fall for you."**

** "Oh?" A grin spread across his face as he leaned closer, "Are you falling for me, Missy?" Her expression matched his and she leaned even closer, until her lips brushed against the edge of his ear. He could feel her breathing.**

** "Not even in your wildest dreams, Specs." She pulled away, laughing much to his disappointment and his friends amusement. The kettle screamed and their attention was diverted though he swore he saw her pocket a small but particularly shiny collectible spoon. "Tea time!" She shouted. The five of them returned to the dining room once the tea was poured. Rhea mixed some honey in. "The honey should make it taste a little better but it probably won't be great but it will get rid of your sickness." She smiled brightly at Eeez from where she knelt across from him. He took the tea from her and she stood, bending backwards with a groan. Three sets of eyes were drawn to the exposed skin of her stomach as her shirt rode up. Something blue peaked out from the top of her black pants. She straightened up when her back emitted a series of loud cracks. "Ah, that's better." Her neck did the same when she tilted it from side to side. "Much better."**

** "I don't think your neck should make that sound." Specs stated, lighting up another cigarette.**

** "Nah, it's fine. I do it all the time. It feels magnificent. I'm all good." Her eyes drifted to the window. "Ah, but it's late. I need to catch my train or I'll be stuck here. Gotta eat to live, gotta work to eat!" She smiled jokingly before going back upstairs. She ran around her room grabbing her things. She dragged her jacket from the chair and went to pull it on before pausing. Something deep inside her not to put it on until she was on the train. Rhea frowned but stuffed it into her bag. She was surprised to find them waiting for her. "Eh," she coked her head to the side, "what're you guys standin' around for?"**

** "You really didn't charge us for helpin'" Cap answered.**

** "We can at least walk you to the station." Clark finished for him.**

** "Thank you!" Eeez chirped, sounding better already.**

** "Aw, it was my pleasure, Eeeze." She bent down to him, "I'm glad you're feeling better, now I'm trusting you to take care of these three." She leaned in to whisper, "I don't think they can do it themselves. So you gotta watch over 'em, okay?" He giggled and nodded. "Good! I'm counting on you!" She winked and smiled brightly as she let them escort her to the train.**

** "So, you're leavin' already?" Specs questioned as they got to the station.**

** "Yeah, gotta get back to my job and earn my living. Plus I got family waiting for me." She smiled when she said family, already thinking of Allen and how much she missed him.**

** "That's too bad." He grinned down at her. Smirking she pulled his glasses from his face.**

** "Aw, don't cry for me, Specs." She put the big round glasses on her face, giggling until she opened her eyes. "Oh gods! How can you see through these?" Everything before blurred before her eyes. She couldn't even tell colors apart. "Where did you go?" She waved her hands around, trying to find him. "Seriously, your eyes can't be this bad, right? Right?"**

** "Unfortunately they are, now give them back. I can't see either." Pulling the glasses off, she blinked slowly allowing her eyesight to recover. She stared up at him and then slowly gave him the glasses back.**

** "Ya know," she drawled, getting closer and closer to him. "It's too bad though,"**

** "Oh? How so?" He backed away steadily, something about the way she was moving told he he should be worried, chuckling nervously but she kept advancing.**

** "Well," she placed a hand on his face, stroking his cheek with her thumb gently, "despite your best effort with those glasses," her other hand came up to pull him closer. Clark and Cap just watched with hanging jaws, though Clark's hands covered Eeez's eyes. "You're very cute, I bet you clean up nicely. If only we could've gotten to know each other a bit better." Her hand slid down his back causing him to shiver and try to pull away, though he didn't get far. She was right in his face now, standing on the tip of her toes to reach. "We could've had some real fun." Her nimble fingers sliding into his back pocket as she spoke. She swore she could see the blood rushing to his cheeks as she pulled away. "Oh well." She shrugged, "Guess we'll never know." She grinned at him and turned back to the train. "I'll see you guys around!" She waved at them over her shoulder as she left.**

** "Dude," Momo spoke once the train had pulled out and the strange herbalist was gone, "you totally should have tapped that." Tyki made a face at him.**

** "I swear, you assholes delight in my pain." He huffed, trying to regain his composure, her sudden change in attitude had thrown him through a loop.**

** "You delight in your pain." Clark pointed out, snickering as they made their way back to the inn.**

** "She threw a spoon at me!" Tyki argued, ****subconsciously**** rubbing the spot though it no longer hurt. He had a feeling it could've though.**

** "Yeah and you liked it!" Momo retorted. Tyki glared at them when Clark agreed. He pulled his cigarette pack out and glared when he saw that it contained nothing.**

** "Damn it! I need a smoke!" He reached into his back pocket for his wallet only to find it empty. "Huh?" His hands dove into both his from pockets too. "Fuck! She took my wallet!" He dumped out all his pockets but no wallet fell out. Momo and Clark immediately began to search their own pockets.**

** "Mine's gone too!"**

** "Mine too!" Tyki groaned, dragging his hand down his face once more.**

** "She played us."**

* * *

** "SHE WHAT?! I'LL KILL HER! I'LL FUCKING RIP HER FUCKING HEAD RIGHT OFF HER FUCKING SHOULDERS!" Rhea shrieked, struggling against everybody trying to hold her down.**

** "Beautiful, that's not a realistic response. We don't know where she is! We can't do anything about it!" Lavi tried to reason with the enraged girl as he held onto her. Reever and Komui were trying their best to help him with little luck.**

** "Lavi's right! The Noah is missing. We can't even follow her because she used a strange door to travel. Allen could tell you all about it." Reever pulled harder on her waist. Lavi and komui held onto her arms yet she was still making her way out of the infirmary.**

** "Man, Beautiful you pull like an ox! You're damaging the floor."**

** "Then get the hell off me and it won't matter! Who the hell cares about the fucking floor?!" She whirled around to roar in his face. "That little bitched stabbed my little brother! In. The. Eye. With. A. Fucking. Candle." She enunciated each word carefully causing the older exorcist to shiver.**

** "Rhea, Allen's eye is already healing! He'll be fine in no time." Komui tried to argue though she quickly spun around on him causing the man to yelp and cower in fear.**

** "That's not the point! That's like saying if I stabbed a person but it wasn't a fatal wound than it's okay because they didn't die! Shall I try it on you?"**

** "Let's just calm down and think about this rationally for a moment." Reever did his best to get her to turn away from the supervisor who he was pretty sure she was actually going to try her suggestion on.**

** "Miss Blackwood," Rhea froze at the sound of Head Nurse's voice. "If you do not cease this tantrum then I will be forced to sedate you. There are other patients here who need rest which requires a quiet environment." Her icy tone made the girl reconsider her yelling. "Now if you can behave like an adult you may see your brother. He's awake now. However," she hissed, "if you make another racket then I will sedate you without a second thought. Do we understand each other?"**

** Pouting, she nodded her head, "Yes Head Nurse. I understand." With a shake of her hips and shoulders she shrugged her three captors off and stalked after the woman to her brother's room.**

** "Hey, Rey." Allen greeted as she entered the room and sat down.**

** "Remember my warning, Miss Blackwood." Head Nurse said before she left.**

** "Warning?" Allen questioned, though his concern was quickly turned to her injuries. "Are you okay?"**

** "Yeah, I'm fine." She sighed, yet he still reached over to stroke the bandage on her cheek.**

** "Are you sure? Some of these bruises look bad." He worried, fussing over the bruises he could see along her shoulders, face, and scratches from the diamonds.**

** "It was just an akuma, with a pain in the ass ability. Firing sharp weapons at me. They flew through the air like throwing stars." She shrugged it off.**

** "Komui said you got really cold on your last mission. Are you sure your fingers aren't still blue?" She blinked at him a couple times.**

** "Really?"**

** "Yeah, why?"**

** "I'm just surprised he knew. I didn't tell him. I didn't think it was relevant," she continued her answer before Allen could jump in and argue that it was completely relevant and that she needed to take better care of herself, "which means that Kanda must've told him."**

** "You were with Kanda?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.**

** "Yeah, he almost took my head off when he thought I was the innocence. Then we argued about whether that was the proper way to collect innocence." She grinned at him. "So when can you leave this place?"**

** "I'm good to go today. I've just got..." he trailed off as her eye started twitching and she zeroed in on the medical patch still covering his eye. "I mean-" She was already getting up and he lunged for her, grabbing her arm before she was out of reach. "I mean, I'm just worried about you! You get cold so easily! Just say! Please! I wanna make sure you're okay!" She wheeled around to look at him and caved.**

** "Fine." She dropped back down into her chair. "But I really am fine. It's just a few bumps and bruises."**

** "Well, we've been so busy, one mission after another, so why don't we both get dressed and maybe we'll go out to the town that's nearby and maybe get lunch?" He offered. She pouted at him but nodded.**

** "Fine. I guess that works."**

** "I'll see you in 10 minutes, is that enough time?" Allen asked, already getting out of bed. She nodded and left, though the petulant look stayed on her face. He sighed after she left, he wasn't sure who would win if Rhea did find Road. Lavi met him outside the infirmary.**

** "Hey, I see you managed to calm her down." Lavi greeted him.**

** "Yeah, for now," Allen rubbed the back of his head, he still had a concussion but he wasn't going to tell his sister that. "I'm not sure if it will last or not. She's pretty upset when she found out. I think it's a good thing Komui kept her out for another day and didn't tell her over the phone."**

** "Yeah, she'd probably would've gone looking for the little homicidal maniac. Might not have been able to stop her." Lavi chortled, putting his arms behind his head as they headed out to meet Rhea, not trusting her enough to leave her alone for any longer than was necessary.**

** "I'm not sure I actually want to see that battle. There might not be anything left." Allen chuckled nervously. "She can be pretty destructive when she's upset. I've seen it a couple times and the battlefield has always been destroyed." They stopped the conversation as Rhea appeared, dressed for a day out. Her vest was red this time.**

** "Hey, that's a good color on you, Beautiful." She glanced down at her vest.**

** "Thanks. I like red." She was still pouting. The three made their way to the science department, Rhea wasn't listening to why.**

** "WHAT?!" Komui's cry jarred her out of her grumpy state. "You're going out?"**

** "What's his problem now?" Rhea complained turning around to see him and Lenalee walk by also dressed for a day off.**

** "Ah, Lenalee..." Rhea rolled her eyes as Allen trailed off.**

** "Ah, she is pretty." Lavi voiced the thought everyone was thinking. Rhea's eyes fell to the floor as she wrapped her arms around herself, her left foot running up and down her right calf. "Hey! Lenalee! Where ya going?" Lavi shouted causing her to turn to him.**

** "Just out to town for awhile. I need to get a few things. Well if I can get Komui to let go of me." She looked over at her brother who was trying to pull her back by her bag.**

** "That's a terrible idea! That town is so dangerous." He shrieked.**

** "How would you know? Ya never leave the Order." Rhea pointed out, and as he did everytime it involved Lenalee, he ignored her.**

** "Yeah, but Lenalee's tough." Lave reassured him, not that it helped at all.**

** "I am pretty tough." She agreed and then pulled away. "I'll see you later."**

**"Have a good time!" The rest of the room waved happily at her. She returned to favor though noted that Rhea still looked rather upset. She waved back and with that Lenalee was gone. Komui fought violently against Lavi with little success.**

** "Have you ever considered giving him a mild sedative?" Rhea asked Reever who was already stalking over, no doubt to drag Komui back and force him to actually do some work for once.**

** "That might be a good idea." He nodded and then grabbed Komui from Lavi. "Excuse me Chief but I think it's time we got to work." He dragged the still struggling man and Rhea was mildly impressed considering that Komui had almost ten centimeters on him and was flailing like he was fighting for his life, which now that she thought about it he probably felt that way. Lucky us, she thought bitterly. Allen asked something that Rhea missed but it seemed to set Komui off. He ripped himself free of Reever's grip and tore off screaming as he went. She winced at the high pitch.**

** "Do ya think the Chief's alright?" Lavi asked.**

** "I don't know." Allen answered in a daze, as they all stared after the crazed man.**

** "No, no he's not." Rhea gave her input.**

** Grumpily she followed Reever and Allen, who had promised that they would leave as soon as he helped Reever carry the giant pile of paperwork to Komui, into the empty office. Next thinking she knew Johnny ran up shouting something about Sir Komlin II.**

** "WHAT? YOU'RE KIDDING!" Reever and Allen shouted while Rhea just groaned. She didn't want to do this again.**

** "Oh great! Another robo debacle!" She rolled her eyes but followed them into town with Lavi in tow who had apparently decided to help.**

** "Got dragged into helping again, huh, Beautiful?" Lavi grinned at her as they searched the town with the rest of the science division for Komui and Komlin while avoiding Lenalee and Russell.**

** "Yep, just like last time." Lavi laughed as her nose wrinkled at the memory. "I know that eventually it will be funny, or at least I hope," she muttered the last part under her breath, "but right now it's not."**

** "I think I'm glad I missed Sir Komlin II's debut. Guess I get to see if after all." He grinned at her.**

** "Well aren't you lucky." She sighed, "Why can't anything be normal? Why does it all have to be monsters, akuma, and robots? Just one normal day? Is that so much to ask?"**

** "Don't get your hopes up, Beautiful." She pouted at him.**

** "For gods sake! It's a giant robot! Where the hell could it be hiding?" As soon as the words left her mouth, the earth beneath their feet started to shake. "Never mind. Found him." She drawls before taking off in the direction of the tremors with Lavi right behind her. When they met up with the others Komlin was running along the wall like a massive spider with Komui sitting on its head all the while shouting something about Russell being an octopus. "Octopus?" Rhea questioned more to herself than anybody else.**

** "Do something!" Reever ordered the three exorcists as Komui came closer and closer to Lenalee and Russell. All three activated their innocence and charged with the science division right on their heels. The innocence shoved Komui and, more importantly, Komlin into a cramped alleyway. The force damaged part of the walls with a loud bang and a cloud of dust but nobody walked in to investigate so they ignored it.**

** "Let go of me! I have to kill him! I have to kill that pervert!" Komui screeched from his place pinned between Sir Komlin and Lavi's hammer which he was attempting to push off.**

** "Please Chief, you're going to have to calm down.**** Using Sir Komlin like this could easily destroy the town if you're not careful." Allen tried to reason with him though he didn't let go of the robot. Obliviously Lenalee wasn't dating Russell. He was too old for her.**

**_"You claim this man is brilliant?"_**** The voice sounded skeptical which she could understand.**

**_"That's what I'm told. I've also seen him do some unbelievable things."_**

**_ "So have you. They don't hail you as a genius. They call you reckless."_**

**_ "Yeah,"_**** she sighed, ****_"I know. I've gotten used to it."_**

** "The most important thing that matters is my Lenalee's safety." Rhea didn't understand how Lenalee was possibly in any danger here but Komui was also hysterical at this point, granted it didn't take a lot to get him to this point if it involved Lenalee, which meant there would be no reasoning with him. "So what if we have to sacrifice a town or two?!" He continued to protest. How on Earth does Lenalee deal with this madman? She questioned to herself. I would've throttled him years ago, she thought.**

**_ "So if your brother started doing this, you'd strangle him?"_**

**_ "I wouldn't let it get to this point! The man needs help!"_**

**_ "I'm not sure there's somebody in the world that CAN help him."_**

**_ "You may be right."_**

** "Okay this obsession is getting kind of sick." Lavi remarked. Rhea agreed with him on that point, thoroughly creeped out herself.**

** "You tend to jump to conclusions, Komui. Maybe you should just take a moment and be rational about this." Rhea's advice was ignored though Lavi did lean over to whisper in her ear.**

** "Do you really think he's capable of that?"**

** "No, but it was worth a shot, right?" She sighed and he nodded. Reever stepped forward, hands on his hips and face screwed up into an exasperated look with his eyebrows furrowed. Rhea knew it well.**

** "Allen, deal with this please." Reever was so done with his superior's antics. Rhea couldn't really blame him there. She would've killed Komui a long time ago had she been in his position, granted she knew absolutely nothing about science but that was besides the point.**

** "Yes sir!" Dealing two quick blows to the robot Allen severed the head from the body as Lavi and Rhea pulled their innocence back. Rhea couldn't help but wonder, as Harlequin settled back down on her skin, if there had been just a little bit of resentment on Allen's part from the last robot debacle. The head slid from the body and hit the ground with Komui still on it.**

** "Ahhh! My upgraded Sir Komlin!" Komui sobbed looking at his broken robot. He quickly turned his anger on Allen. "Allen you idiot octopus helper-outer!" He yelled right in Allen's face still sobbing. Allen covered his ears, and even Rhea took a step back, at Komui's volume. Komui then shot Allen in the face with a gun.**

** "Komui!" Rhea shouted, stalking towards the man dangerously, until the smoke cleared and Allen appeared unharmed despite the giant cartoon like octopus mask on his head.**

** "Hey! What is this thing? It won't come off!" As Allen tried to remove his new hat Rhea's anger melted away. It was a very comical scene. Lavi agreed with her as both fell into fits of laughter.**

** "That's a good look for you!" Rhea was unable to talk past her giggles which were getting louder by the minute. The science division just stared dumbly until Komui pulled a bunch of Octopi and guns out and Rhea was pretty sure she saw a spear as well.**

** "Where was he keeping all of that?" Rhea questioned, cocking her head to the side, a bit concerned now.**

** "I've got just the thing for that pervert!" He laughed evilly. The scientists immediately jumped him.**

** "Ahh! Step away from the gun, please, Chief Komui!" They begged, trying to stop him.**

** "Can you believe he was really intending to use all these Octopi on Russell?" Johnny asked quietly under his breath. Rhea didn't answer but she could totally believe that. Komui was just bonkers.**

** "Come on now Chief, just think about it. Your sister and Russell are just walking around and talking together. That doesn't mean they're dating, does it?" Reever was still trying to save Russell's life with diplomacy, though Komui was not convinced.**

** "Do they look like they just happened to run into each other?" He wailed.**

** "You know he has a son, right? That means he's way too old to make a move on Lenalee, wouldn't you say?" Reever tried, once more, to be the voice of reason, since Komui was clearly lacking his own. Komui pondered this for a moment and Rhea wondered if she dared to hope that it was working at all It didn't seem likely. "Let's just wait and see, okay?"**

** "I'll reserve judgment." He coincided for a moment allowing the scientists to sigh in relief. Allen was still struggling with the octopus on his head while Lavi and Rhea continued to watch with amusement at the losing battle with Rhaps recording the whole thing.**

**_"Is this really so important to record?"_**

**_ "You never know, if we manage to pull this off without Lenalee noticing I may be able to blackmail him with it later. Nothing wrong with being prepared."_**** She answers though the voice doesn't respond.**

** "However," Komui started again, "if I discover they're dating the jerk will have nowhere to hide!" Everyone groaned at that. Despite having stopped Komui from attacking Russell with all his Octopi they were still stuck secretly following Lenalee and Russell around while they shopped.**

** "I'm not seeing much of the genius here. Plenty of madness but not much of the genius. He mostly seems like he needs help." The voice came back, finally commenting on Komui and his sanity.**

**_"Yeah, I know what you mean. I haven't seen much of the genius part either but I keep getting told that he is. Besides I think that he's a lot smarter than he lets on."_**** She speculated to the voice in her head. Ignoring wherever they were being dragged now that they were secretly following the pair.**

**_ "Perhaps he's just a lunatic."_**

**_ "I know it seems like that but he built that robot himself so he's got to have some."_**

**_ "Really?"_**** The voice sounded surprised. ****_"All by himself?"_**

**_ "Yep."_**

**_ "That must have happened before I woke up."_**** Komui started yelling before she could question it at all about it's last statement.**

** "You can't know that based on what store they walked into Chief!" Reever was quick to make an argument. Allen was still trying to get the octopus off his head but he didn't seem to be having much luck. Timcampy was trying to help but the little golem could only pull so hard. Rhaps stayed by Rhea's head, where she was safe, still recording the entire mess for her mistress' later amusement or use. Reever had tried to pacify Komui with some tea while they watched Lenalee hold up different ties to Russell through the window but it wasn't having the calming effect that he was hoping for.**

** "I won't allow it!" Komui shouted startling the rest of the science division. Rhea watched as the tea set hit the ground. They seemed to go through a lot of pottery. Usually it didn't survive long being around Komui she noted. "This charade ends now! I'll take care of the fiend, Russell by blowing him and everything else to smithereens!" He bellowed lighting a massive bomb with 'The End Bomb' written on it much to Reever and the others' horror.**

** "Isn't that a bit much?" Rhea asked, tilting her head to the side while she crossed her arms over her chest, secretly grateful that Allen was relatively normal and didn't do shit like this. "Besides, aren't you part of 'everything else' too?" Komui ignored her, he had a habit of doing that when he was being hysterical about anything that involved Lenalee.**

** "We need some help Allen!" Reever cried looking behind the group at Allen who didn't hear him over his own yelling for Timcampy to pull harder not that it was making much of a difference. Instead it looked, to Rhea anyway, like the octopus was dancing.**

** "Allen is busy fighting the octopus, Sir!" Lavi answered for him, still grinning.**

** "Then you do it Lavi!"**

** "Okay." Lavi pulled his hammer out again while Rhea was content to watch and record the chaos from her safe place leaning against the wall. Putting out the fuse before the bomb blew was easy for him.**

** "We're saved!" The scientists sighed a bit too early. Komui still managed to pull out a small octopus bomb and light it while muttering darkly to himself.**

** "Hey! Sorry Chief!" Lavi intervened again and yet he still achieved his goal and flung it at the store. Unfortunately, due to Lavi's interference, his throw wasn't too accurate. The whole front wall of the store was demolished but Lenalee and Russell were unharmed though considerably surprised. Reever grabbed Komui by the collar and began shaking him all the while yelling at him.**

** "What the hell were you thinking Chief? You blew half the store away!" Komui was unperturbed having a more concerning, in his mind, announcement to make.**

** "Do not be alarmed! The bomb was programmed to hurt everyone but my dear sweet Lenalee!" He proclaimed completely happy as if that had been what the problem originally was. Reever seemed less thrilled with his answer.**

** "You are missing the point, ******Sir******!" He shouted still shaking the man violent;y. Rhea leaned over to Lavi.**

** "I think Reever is about to have an aneurysm." She whispered in his ear. He laughed with her.**

** "I think you might be right. At this rate he'll just kill the Chief."**

** "I wouldn't blame him if he did. Anyone who's met Komui for more than five minutes would completely understand. Some might even thank him." The two chortled together as they followed Lenalee and Russell to a cute little cafe. Most of the scientists were in disguise which meant they were wearing dresses. Again Rhea leaned over to murmur in Lavi's ear. "Well now I have more nightmare fuel."**

** He snickered quietly with her, "Just in case you were running low." While Reever begged Komui not to destroy another building.**

** "I'm rather uncomfortable taking orders from a man wearing a dress." Komui commented which only seemed to fuel Reever's rage. They started bickering about whose fault it was causing Rhea to roll her eyes and turn to her right. She looked past Lavi where Allen was sitting, still with the octopus on his head of course.**

** "Okay, go ahead. Pull it! Don't worry about me." Allen ordered. Timcampy obliged and tugged one of the octopus legs off. It did not have the intended effect that Allen was hoping for. The octopus mask spun round and round his head before stopping in the same place it was before. Over at their table Lenalee and Russell's tea arrived and they both reached for the sugar. After a cliché moment where their hands touched Komui lost it once again, showing that he was clearly reading romance novels. Pulling three pink bunnies, that looked a lot like the one on his coffee mug, from inside his jacket, he threw them.**

** "Fly my pink fuzzy ones! Destroy Russell!" Reever sighed at Komui's proclamation and once again ordered Lavi to take care of it.**

** "Seriously, where is he keeping all these?" Rhea questioned. Reever just shrugged with slumping shoulders. He truly did not have an answer and he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to know either. Unfortunately the bunny bombs, because apparently that's what they were, destroyed the cafe wall that Lavi had sent them to in order to protect Russell. "How could they possibly ignore all of this? Walls don't just randomly explode like that!" Rhea protested.**

** "Damn! You!" Reever was once again shaking Komui by his collar. Something he did a lot, Rhea noted.**

** "Did you see their hands? Anyone would have thought they were dating!" Squawked Komui.**

** "How in the nine rings of hell does that mean they're dating?" Rhea sighed, letting go of her question. There was no point arguing with the madman. They moved on to a hat shop while she, Lavi, Allen, Komui, Reever, and the rest that were trying to contain Komui's insanity were hiding across the street behind a tree and a horse drawn cart. The horse paid them no attention whatsoever which Rhea was really wishing she could do too. The next time Komui made another robot she didn't care if it tried to cook Lavi, she wasn't getting involved; this was completely and utterly ridiculous. Once again Rhea was brought back to the present by Komui's shouting. He shoved a vial of purple liquid in No.65's mouth. "Do I want to know what that does?" Reever didn't have time to answer her as No.65 started to shriek and smoke. "Yep, don't wanna know." She concluded. The smoke cleared and No.65 was now larger and purple. "O...kay...?" Rhea was now more that a bit concerned.**

** "Move out, Macho No.65!" Komui ordered, using some kind of remote to drive him. Nobody seemed to notice the large purple creature crossing the street or if they did, they were just pretending not to see, which Rhea couldn't blame them for that.**

**_ "Is it just me or does the guy selling the hats look familiar?"_**** She ignored Komui, leaving him to Lavi as she spoke to the voice.**

**_ "What do you mean?"_**

**_ "He looks familiar, like I've seen him before."_**

**_ "From what I've seen you don't pay much attention to people like that."_**

**_ "Maybe he just looks like somebody who I've seen before."_**

**_ "That's possible I suppose. If he's setting off an alarm in your head you should listen to it."_**

**_ "I know. I'll keep an eye on him."_**

** "Just give it a rest!" Lavi complained ready to hit Komui with his hammer. Noticing the danger, he proceeded to shoot Lavi in the neck with a dart. "Was that a dart?" He asked reaching up to his neck. "Damn you Chief, I'm getting super sleepy." Then he passed out. Rhea watched as he hit the ground, leaving her the last exorcist standing.**

** "You're dead to me!" Reever shouted as he and the others tried to take the controller from Komui causing Rhea to laugh. Behind her Allen was still trying to remove the octopus mask from his head. Rhea was beginning to wonder if maybe she should have some compassion for her brother and help him with it. Timcampy didn't seem to be having much luck. As the thought crossed her mind Tim managed to pull another leg off the octopus which sent him flying backwards before crashing into and breaking off one of the antennas on the remote for No.65 which sent him right into a wall, and the suspicious salesman, decimating it before he crash landed on top of the scientists.**

**_"Now he's a squid!"_**** Rhea chirped, still giggling at her brother.**

**_"That's not very nice, Little One. You should help him."_**

**_ "Or maybe squids have more than six legs. I never can remember."_**

**_ "And this is important, how?"_**** It questioned as they moved on to another store. She helped Johnny set Lavi down against a tree while Reever was once again attempting to reign in Komui's madness when the lights in the shop went out. A shout of surprise that sounded like Lenalee was all it took for Komui to break free from Reever and go running over. The others quickly followed.**

** "Stand by! Sir Komlin III deploy!" Rhea's head snapped over to where Komui was shouting. She looked up just in time to see the massive, bigger than the second Komlin, robot land on the store.**

** "Oh no!" Lenalee groaned.**

** "Is that..." Everyone but Komui spoke together, "...Komlin?"**

** "Sir Komlin III!" Komui proclaimed proudly as if it were a good thing. "And now Sir Komlin we will annihilate Russell! Komlin punch!" The order sent everybody running in different directions as the hit obliterated what was left of the store. Russell took off running down the road for his life, Komui gave chase yelling all the while.**

** "Hey! Stop! Quit it!" Lenalee's shouts were ignored or unheard by her brother still thundering after Russell. "Unreal!" She snapped.**

** "You're surprised?" Rhea snorted as the robot crashed down the street destroying anything and everything in its path. An energy attack from Komlin's eye demolished half the road.**

** "Lavi! You've got to help us stop the Chief!" Reever shouted shaking Lavi desperately.**

** "I...can't." Lavi mumbled.**

** "Allen?" He cried turning to the boy just as he managed to pull the octopus mask off only to reveal another smaller one beneath it. "Rhea! You're Russell's last hope!"**

** Yeah, okay." She sighed, pushing off the wall, holding her arm out she called, "Innocence Activate!" Harlequin came alive, slithering out from her sleeve and to the ground, waiting for it's wielder's next command. "Shadow Stitches!" The molten metal shot along the ground like living shadows before rising off the ground to wrap about the robot, holding it in place. As Komlin struggled the innocence squeezed tighter and tighter around it.**

** "Rhea! Let go!" Komui shrieks upon realizing what was holding him back.**

** "Not happenin' This has gone on long enough!" She shouted back at him. "You need to get a grip!"**

** "Komlin Eye Beam!" He bellowed having the robot shoot at Russell who was still running down the street. Giving Komlin more power the robot began to move down the street while dragging Rhea along with it who was straining to hold it back.**

** "I could use some help over here!" She growled through gritted teeth as she dug her heels deeper into the ground, not daring to let go of her innocence, though she could feel it reaching its limit in length before it wouldn't have the strength to hold onto the robot. Russell soon found himself at a dead end with nowhere to run, despite Rhea's efforts. **

** "Say hi to Sir Komlin's killer technique, Russell." He grinned evilly as Rhea yanked even harder, dragging the robot back farther. "Komlin fi-" he was cut off by Lenalee's foot connecting with the top of his head donning her Dark Boots.**

** "What are you doing here, Brother? Answer me!" She demanded, gritting her teeth and furrowing her eyebrows.**

** "I don't care what you do, Lenalee! I won't accept it! Russell can't be your boyfriend!" He sobbed, tears streaming down his face.**

** "My boyfriend?" Lenalee questioned, eyes widening and jaw slacking slightly. "You think Mr. Russell...Where in the world did you come up with something like that?" She slammed her foot down on his head several more times.**

** "But the two of you went on a secret date! I saw it all with my own two eyes! The horror!" He was hysterical again.**

** "Here." Lenalee handed Komui a neatly wrapped present.**

** "What's this?" He asked.**

** "It's a present for you. I came to town today to buy it."**

** "A present for me?" He questioned slowly.**

** "I asked Mr. Russell to help me pick something out. Then I thought I would return the favor by helping him find a really nice present for his son Jean." Lenalee explained.**

** "Sir Komlin, you may stop the attack." Komui called. As the robot stood from it's battle ready stance Rhea released it from her innocence and sighed as it wrapped back up her now aching arms. Sir Komlin set Lenalee down gently after she put her innocence away allowing her to walk over to Russell so she could continue helping him find a present for his son. Rhea picked up a silver button as the others started walking away. Lenalee started towards a store when Russell turned into an akuma. "Lenalee!" Komui shouted in an attempt to warn her while Rhea yanked Harlequin off her skin rushing towards her friend. Before the akuma could attack, Allen's giant claw tore through it saving Lenalee and slaying the akuma.**

** "Why am I such a bad akuma?! Well I guess I'm glad the pretty girl gets to live." Rhea's eyes darted up to where she knew the soul of the akuma was drifting away before returning her attention back to her friends.**

** "Don't worry everyone, I'm here."**

** "Thank you Allen, you-" Lenalee couldn't finish as she and everyone else were still laughing at the even smaller than before octopus still on the back of his head. Sighing Rhea slowed to walk to meet up with Allen and Lenalee. "Oh! Where's Mr. Russell?" She asked, suddenly worried.**

** "The real Mr. Russell is just fine." Allen assured her as his sister finally took pity on him and pried the octopus off his head.**

** "I'm so glad." The soft moment was ruined by Komui happily shrieking about his present from Lenalee and breaking more of the town with Sir Komlin in his joy. "I think you've done enough damage for today!" Lenalee snapped, sending a whirling tornado at the robot, tearing it apart.**

** "Sir Komlin...my sweet..." Komui mourned his robot for the second time that day.**

** "So what are we gonna do about this mess?" Reever groaned as he surveyed the debris.**

** "I propose we all pitch in to fix the damage." Komui answered before smiling and announcing, "I'll leave you to it while I go visit Sir Komlin!" Then running away.**

** "He plays with the robot while we're cleaning up?" Reever was shaking with rage at this. "All those in favor of burying him in one of these walls?" He suggested.**

** "Let's get him." The decision was unanimous.**

** "What's the matter everyone?" Komui asked as they got closer. "Oh that looks sharp." As Komui's screams of pain filled the air Rhea, Allen, and Lenalee started walking away, leaving Komui to his fate.**

** "Your brother needs serious help." Rhea pointed out casually.**

** "Yeah, I know." Lenalee sighed.**

* * *

"Nothing is permanent in this wicked world. Not even our troubles."

― Charles Chaplin

* * *

**So this was my longest chapter like ever! It's over 15K. Seriously. And that's without the author's note! I can't wait to hear what you guys all thing about everything that happened! Was there anything you didn't see coming? I had another question for you guys but I forgot it so I'll probably ask it next time...if I remember. Why does my memory suck so badly?! Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and I will see you next time! Please review! Cheshire's out~!**


	5. Can You Hear the Bells Ring?

**Welcome back my darlings. I know I've been gone for a while. It's been a bit of a hard month or so. This chapter just took forever. I can't really explain it. Just been down for a little while. It's something I'm working on. I think I need more coffee or more sleep. Or both. I think coffee will do for now. I don't know what I'm babbling about anymore so lets just get onto the reviews from my lovely readers!**

**Dear Alexc1209, Yes! Tyki has made an appearance! I hope you enjoyed it and their first interaction! It was different from Veil of Ink and Gold so I thought it was interesting. I can't wait to hear what you think of it and this next chapter! Yes Komui being Komui is always fun even more when you add a Komlin in! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Wolfs Child, I'm glad to hear the baby shower went well. Though by the time I get this out the baby might be here by now XD My bad. The octopi are always fun. Komui is fun in general, as long as you aren't Allen or Russell. Yeah Rey can be a bit mean, throwing things at people and then taking their wallets but she really wanted it. Which is her excuse for it. They will meet again in the next chapter! Keep reading for it! Enjoy!**

**Dear 15****th****, Thank you so much for the holiday wishes! I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well. It really made me smile when I saw it. Me mean? What did I do? Oh that. Nah, it was fun. Yeah I thought about making it them but then decided against it. Rhea just needed money. Nope! That wasn't Tyki either! Though she did make his day a bit harder. I don't think you're obsessed. He's a fun character. I agree. Eeez is adorable and makes the others goofy. I loved their arguments and how both Rhea and Eeez ignored them. I don't think Rhea and Tyki can be around each other without flirting. They're just not capable of it. She's got sticky fingers, and I will keep that thought in mind. Maybe he will. I hope you enjoy this chapter and if you ever win the lottery please share with me I'm flat broke. Have a good week! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"How blessed are some people whose lives

have no fears, no dreads,

to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly

and brings nothing but sweet dreams."

― Bram Stoker

* * *

Thump.

Thump. Ba-dump. Thump.

Thump. Thu-thump.

_"Little One."_

Thump. Da-dump.

Thump. Da-dump.

_"Little One."_

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Thump.

Ba-dump. Thump. Ba-dump.

Thump. Da-dump. Ba-dump. Thu-thump.

"-Ey!" Thump. Thump. Thump. "Rey!" Thump. Thump. "Rhea!"

_"On your left!" _The yelling of both the voice and Allen woke her from the trance. Her neck snapped around just in time to see a carriage barreling towards her at top speed. She jolted backwards and out of the way, ignoring the string of curses from the driver. Allen immediately entered her vision, fingers wrapping around her shoulders. Worry filled silver eyes met green ones covered by drooping eyelids. The dark bruising under her eyes only increased the tightness Allen felt in his chest.

"Rey! What the hell? You almost got hit by that carriage! Did you even see it?" His hands clenched tighter.

"Yes...?" She offered weakly, her eyes darting away from him as she tried to gently turn away.

"Are you okay, Beautiful?" Lavi asked, a little farther behind Allen. She vaguely noticed that he'd taken his arms down from behind his head. Lenalee stood next to Allen, lips pulled down in a frown. She tried to shake off their concerned looks.

"I'm fine. I was just spacing out." She still didn't meet her brother's eyes.

"You haven't heard a word I've been saying this whole time, have you?" She glanced up at Lavi. Instead of being upset, like she thought he would, he seemed just as worried as Allen, his eyebrows knitting together with a frown marring his lips, teeth biting the lower one slightly. It was almost worse, she decided.

"I've just got a headache. It's no big deal." She rubbed the bridge of her nose before extending her fingers up to massage her tired and stinging eyes. She swore they felt like the Sahara desert. She blinked them rapidly trying to moisten them, her fingers kneading her temples now.

"How long have you had this headache?" Allen's eyes narrowed as he inspected her face for confirmation of his suspicions.

"Just a couple days. It's really not that bad." She tried to wave them off even as her vision blurred.

"Beautiful, that's not a good thing." Lavi reminded her. She bit her lip to keep from telling him that she already knew that particular fact.

"You should go see Head Nurse." Lenalee suggested but sighed when she saw the paleness that overtook Rhea's features as she inched away. Probably to run away from the mere mention of the woman or demon which is what Rhea seemed to be convinced she actually was.

"Guys, I'm fine, really." None of them looked as if they believed her for a single moment. "Let's just get home. I promise I'm okay." She turned and walked away, heading towards the train station. Once they were on the train she could finally close her eyes for a moment.

The other three didn't take their eyes off her for an instant, not until they got into the Order. Komui stood, waiting to greet them. He glanced at Rhea for a second, then turned to give Lenalee one of his bone crushing hugs. Allen shook his head at the scene and Lavi interrupted it to give Komui a run down of the mission. Grabbing Rhaps by the tail, Rhea snuck away. Shutting her door as quietly as she could, avoiding making any sound that would alert anyone to her position. Rhaps nuzzled her head gently, trying to nudge her mistress towards the bed. A not so subtle gesture as to what she thought Rhea should do. Instead Rhea walked over to her supply of herbs and started mixing them together with her pestle in her mortar, after placing the silver brooch she'd picked up in her pile of other trinkets she'd found. Once it was done, having mixed in a few spices so it wouldn't taste so bad, she snuck around the others and down into the kitchen. She stayed hidden until Jeryy left, before slinking into the kitchen. Pouring boiling water from the kettle into a small cup with the herbs she breathed in the smoke, allowing the deep breaths to pull the smoke down into her lungs. Once the heat had left the cup and the steam was gone she rinsed it out and put the kettle back. She vanished back up to her room, leaving the kitchen as if she'd never been there in the first place.

Rhea crawled into her bed, ready to throbbing of the headache behind her eyes and eyebrows had faded slightly. Rhaps settled down on her own pillow and watched as the concoction worked, eyelids drifting farther and farther until they refused to stay open and Rhea fell into fitful sleep.

Green eyes darted around, she stood alone. That was new, She jumped down, walking across the barren ground, light dust coating her bare feet. She stared at them for a moment. They didn't look like her feet. They were bigger, the toe nails, while clean and neatly cut, were not painted black like she always did. Her nails were always painted. Her eyes narrowed at the wrinkles on them. Slowly she looked down at her hands, though they were less, there too were wrinkles on her hands. Again her nails cut and clean but missing the dark polish she had put on them in the dead hours of the morning. It was then that she noticed her chest, she wore no shirt and had no breasts. She was a man.

"What the hell?" That was not her voice. She knew that voice. Against her will she began to sing, "Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him, I'll see if it's true." She bit her lip, trying to free herself from the song. "Lord Millennium, is in search of you, looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?" She shook as Yeager's voice came from her lips. Everything hurt, her hands and feet were now bleeding, no doubt from the nails, one of her lungs no longer in her body, and sharp pains, shooting up her spine consumed her mind. White hair fell from her head in large clumps.

"Oh? You're still alive?" A deep baritone voice drew her attention away from the fact that she was singing that wretched song against her will. She looked up and found a man standing across from her. "Well, maybe we'll leave you alive, you can tell the others." He took a few steps forward, though his eyebrows rose when she didn't move.

"This may not be my body and I may not know who you are," She glanced him over. He wore the clothes of the Millennium Earl but the man himself looked nothing like the Earl. He wasn't as tall and had dark curly hair. "But I won't run from you. If you're the Noah that killed him, fine! If you're a product of my imagination and the guilt I feel about not putting him out of his misery then fuck off! I made my choice and I'm tired of reliving this shit!" She felt her body shift as she yelled, she grew shorter, her feet smaller, and the wrinkles disappeared. She was her again.

"You know that a Noah could be in your mind?" He seemed genuinely curious now, cocking his head to the side, slightly, though he was careful that his top hat, black in color except for the tick royal purple silk ribbon tied around the base, the tails falling over the back with his hair, didn't fall from his head.

"There's a lot of things I know. I don't particularly care to discuss it with you." Her lips curled back in a snarl, baring her teeth at him.

"Why not?" He smirked at her, "I'm an excellent conversational partner."

"Clearly not. An "excellent conversational partner" as you put it, doesn't make me want to punch them in the face, you do."

The man laughed, "Ah, you are going to be fun. It's been quite some time since I had a protege as feisty as you. Most of them bend to my will rather quickly."

"I believe you will find that my will is unbreakable. I do what I want and I don't give a flying fuck how you feel about it."

"If that is so, then why didn't you put the general out of his misery?"

"Because it wasn't my choice."

"You've made choices for others before. It's never stopped you." She glared at him.

"You seem to know an awful lot about me."

"I make it a point to know my lineage." She stepped back at that, moving away from him for the first time. Her eyes flicked around them once more. They were still in that miserable little mining town where she had found Yeager. She didn't see the bodies of the finders.

"I am not of your blood!" She snapped, stepping forward, recovering the distance she'd lost.

"But you are, Liebling." The female voice came from behind her. She whirled around only to find nothing behind her. The small empty town was all that greeted her. She swung back around to glare at the man again.

"That's not funny!" She snarled.

"Isn't it Liebling?" In a flash the man was replaced with a tall blonde woman.

"Stop! You aren't here! Go away!" Rhea backed away from her. The man flashed back in.

"But I am here." He told her, his lips twisting up into a fiendish smile. His gold eyes glowing with glee.

"No! You're not! I don't know who or what you are but you aren't really here! You're just a product of my imagination!" She backed away, closing her eyes, desperately wishing he would vanish.

"You can't keep running from who you are, Liebling." The woman was back.

"No! That's not who I am! That's not what I am!" Rhea shouted back at her. She could hear the woman coming closer as her needle thin high heels made soft noises against the dirt road.

"You can't go down this path, Liebling. I know your blood scares you but it's only because you've been lied to! They don't understand!"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Rhea yelled, still backing away.

"If you don't follow your blood, then you'll end up just like him!" Rhea shook her head, she refused to look at whatever she was pointing at. She didn't want to see it. Svelte fingers grabbed her chin, sharp fingernails digging into her soft skin, forcing her to look. Rhea's eyes widened as she once again saw the prone form of Yeager, hanging from the cross she'd found him on.

"Lord Millennium, is in search of you. Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? Maybe you stole it from him, I'll see if it's true." She bit her lip, trying to make it all stop. "Lord Millennium, is in search of you. Looking for the heart now, have you heard the news? I was not the one he sought, maybe it is you?" She shook as Yeager's voice drifted down from where he hung.

"Do you want to be like him?" The man was back with his deep baritone voice.

"Who are you?!" She cried upon seeing him again.

"You'll be just like him." Both voiced melded together. Rhea screamed, covering her ears and screwing her eyes shut. "If you abandon your destiny you will be just like him. You'll die a pitiful, painful, gruesome death with nothing to show for your life, not even a footnote in history."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Rhea kept wailing, she could feel the tears starting to prick at the corners of her eyes.

"You can't escape. There's no escape, you can't do anything about it." They continued to speak as one, a monstrous, macabre, amalgamation of both woman and man.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" The man's voice roared above the woman's. Her head shot up to meet his gaze. The body fritzed between the man and the woman until they mixed together.

"Leave me alone! Shut up! Go away! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Rhea bawled, shaking her head back and forth, trying to banish it all.

"There is no escape." They spoke again. Pain shot through Rhea's back, causing her to hunch in on herself, though it didn't alleviate the pain. A shadow fell over her. Her eyes flew up as she saw the wings appear, first on the ground and then in her peripheral vision. Huge dark feathered wings arching around her, flapping lightly. "This is who you are."

"NO!" Rhea shot up in bed, reaching out for something that wasn't there. Immediately she reached over her shoulder, feeling around for the feathered abominations. She sighed when she found none. Rhaps nuzzled her as she tried to slow her thundering heart. "I'm sorry Rhaps. I didn't mean to wake you. I hope none of the others heard." She looked around her dark room, her eyes adjusting to it quickly. She was used to the dark. She lived in the dark. The light, it wasn't for her. She was okay with the dark. It was better that way, her thoughts swirled around her. Rhaps tried to nudge her towards her pillow again but she shrugged the little golem off. "Sorry, Rhaps, I don't think it's gonna happen." She untangled herself from her sheets, ignoring the sweat soaking into them. She stretched, one arm raised higher than the other. The large, loose shirt she was wearing rising up her legs slowly. She was glad it wasn't longer. She played with the hem a bit. Who's is this? It's not Allen's. Hmmm, maybe Zack's. Or Lavi's. I like his shirts. It's comfortable though, she thought as she walked towards her closet. She dug around in one of the drawers until she found a pair of Lenalee's shorts. Rhea pulled them on before she sat at her desk. Her lithe fingers pulled her notebook out. Sketches filled it. Things she saw, people she saw, ideas for things to build, small mechanical animal blueprints, and abstract designs, all with their own purposes. She flipped to the newest design, bypassing the cluster of messy portraits of a hobo, in a blur. It was a cat. Some kind of big cat. Which one she hadn't decided. She glanced at her clock. She hadn't slept long. She flicked her desk lamp on and started laying out the final lines of her newest design.

* * *

"Another mission?" Allen asked as he stood in Komui's office with Lenalee, Zack, and his sister. "So soon?"

"I'm afraid so," Komui answered from the other side of his desk. More paperwork than usual sat piled up over it. They almost couldn't see him over it all. "I wish I could give you more time to rest and recover from your last mission," his eyes darted to Rhea. She hadn't said a word the entire time. Instead she leaned against the wall with one foot on it and her arms crossed over her chest. He couldn't even be sure if she was listening. Her hood pulled up over her head, obscuring her eyes completely. He couldn't even tell if they were open. Allen followed his gaze, eyebrows furrowing but he didn't say anything.

Feeling the tension, Zack decided to press on, "What's the mission?" All sets of eyes drifted away from Rhea. Komui sighed but answered him.

"You four are going to Paris, France. I assume you're all aware of Notre Dame ?" All four nodded. "Are you also aware of The Hunchback of Notre Dame?"

"The book?" Rhea questioned, arching an eyebrow at him as her lips pulled back into a sneer.

"Yes. The book spoke of a man who lived in the top of the church and rang the bells. It turned into a legend. Now people are claiming to have seen the man, unfortunately each account is different. They clash with each other over every single detail."

"If we can't get a good account of it, why are we going? Shouldn't we wait for more information?" Zack asked, taking a few steps forward. "We should be conserving our strength and resources."

"Normally I would agree with you but akuma have been congregating there. It's beginning to worry the church. They've requested that we look into it. I can't say for sure if there's anything there or not but I want you to destroy any akuma found. Even if there is no innocence, if we destroy akuma we're that much closer to winning the war. It's worth the effort." Komui answered with conviction. Zack nodded, bowing to his superior strategic plan.

"When do we leave?" Rhea spoke up as she pushed off the wall, her body swaying with each step.

"There's a train headed for Paris in an hour. You need to be on it. Dismissed." The four separated, each going their own way to pack and prepare for the mission. Rhea didn't go to her room, she knew that if she went to her room, she'd fall asleep and miss her train or cause the others to miss it as well. Instead she went to the kitchen, waving at Jeryy as she passed by to get to the coffee maker. She poured some of it into a cup and set it down. Turning on her heel she walked away with the pot, sipping at it as she went, only pausing to pick up an ancient looking coin that sat kicked into a corner.

"Is that the coffee pot?" Zack asked as he came to stand by Rhea where she sat on the railing outside her room, packed bag by her feet on the floor.

She looked up at him, down to the coffee pot, and then to him again, "No." Zack laughed at her response.

"I'm pretty sure it is." She shook her head. "Seriously Rey, why do you have the coffee pot?"

"It's not the coffee pot."

"Rey, I'm right here. I can see it. Of course it's the coffee pot."

"It's not the coffee pot," she reiterated. "It's my coffee cup." He blinked at her incredulously. "See, it has my initials." She pointed to where her initials were messily, obviously by her, printed slanted and slightly smudged on the side of the pot. Zack blinked at her a couple more times. He didn't really know what to say. How did he argue with that?

Are you guys ready?" Allen asked as he and Lenalee joined them.

"Uhhhh..." Zack trailed off. Lenalee's eyes narrowed as she zoomed in on her friend and more specifically what she had in her hands.

"Rhea, why do you have to coffee pot?"

"It's her coffee cup." Zack explained as Rhea was busy drinking. She had yet to finish it.

"It's the coffee pot." Lenalee corrected him.

"It's got her initials on it." Zack did his best to be serious but his lips were twitching upwards. Lenalee wasn't nearly as amused as he was.

"Rhea," she sighed, "give me the coffee pot."

"It's her coffee mug." Zack reiterated, lips twitching more. He struggled to restrain his smile.

"No, it's not."

"It is."

"It's not."

It is."

"It's not."

"It is."

"It is not."

"Guys, we're going to miss the train!" Allen groaned as the other two argued and Rhea did nothing but drink her coffee. The bickering continued. "Guys!" Allen whined louder. Rhea snuck silently away, planning to finish her coffee in a safer place.

"Rhea, give me the coffee pot." Lenalee ordered following the girl. As soon as she saw she was being pursued Rhea took off running with Lenalee hot on her heels. Zack collapsed into a fit of laughter with Allen groaning.

"Rey, give me the coffee pot." He started after her too, just causing her to run faster. "Rey!" Zack started laughing harder as the two started chasing her round and round the tower.

"Aren't you guys supposed to be getting on a train?" Komui called from a lower level.

"Working on it!" Allen and Lenalee shouted together.

"Wait." Allen looked around wildly for a moment. "Where did she go?"

* * *

"I cannot believe we missed the train because of you two cretins." Lenalee scolded as they walked through the streets of Paris. Zack and Rhea trailed slightly behind her with Allen just a few footsteps ahead of them. "You're just lucky there was another train going to Paris. We could've messed this mission up by being late." Allen smiled at the good natured scolding. Though he could still hear the two behind him snickering, clearly they were very proud of themselves. "Are you listening to me?" She turned around to face them.

"If we said "Yes" would you believe us?" Zack asked causing Rhea to snicker harder.

"No," Allen rested a hand on her shoulder.

"We're here now, aren't we?" He glanced up to see Rhea smiling at Zack who smiled back even brighter than her. A smile made it's way onto Allen's face at the sight of them. Lenalee sighed, following his gaze. The dark bags under Rhea's eyes made her worry, she wouldn't lie about it. Allen was worried too. She could feel it radiating from him but for now Rhea was smiling and she could live with that.

"Would it help if we said we're sorry?" Rhea asked, though the glint in her eye suggested that she was anything but sorry.

"Are you actually sorry?" Rhea found herself amazed by how well Lenalee did the 'mom voice' considering that she had confided in Rhea a while ago that she no longer remembered her parents.

"No," she shrugged, "but we could say it anyway if it will make you feel better." Lenalee glared at her for a few moments before groaning.

"I can't trust you at all." The misbehaving pair when back to snickering while Allen tried to comfort Lenalee and hide his own laughs. Rhea stopped, turning as she felt something. Her eyes darted around, searching. She closed them and reached out for it. It gave off a similar feeling to the hobo she'd met. Specs, if she was recalling what she had called him that day. Huh, I never actually asked him his name. Whoops. Oh well, it's not like I'll ever see him again, she thought with a shrug. Still she searched for it. The dark spot that had appeared in the hobo. It appeared stronger this time. Without realizing it she wandered away from the others, her footsteps falling silent out of habit in her absent mind. She walked through the thrum of people. Her eyes moving this way and that. She should have been concerned about akuma attacking but her mind was elsewhere.

_"What are you looking for?" _The voice questioned her, looking around too though it didn't see anything that they should be worried about.

_"Hush!" _She ordered, going deeper into the city and crowd of people.

_ "But-"_

_ "Hush!" _She cut it off once more. She could feel it getting closer. The dark spot grew as she closed in. She just had to find the person who owned it.

"Excuse me!" Rhea whirled around as a voice sounded behind her. Her eyes came to rest on a young girl, maybe a few years younger than Rhea herself, with dark hair and deep blue eyes. "Hi there!" She chirps.

"Hi...?" Rhea arched an eyebrow at the girl. "Can I help you?" She found the dark spot. This little girl held it. Just like the hobo she had a dark cross in her aura, stark against the other, much brighter, colors. However, hers was, Rhea noticed, bigger than the man's.

"Yes," the girl blushed a bit, though it felt fake to Rhea, "I'm a bit lost. I was wondering if you could tell me what that sign says." She pointed to the street sign. Rhea leaned down a bit, closer to the girl's level, to look around the people standing in the way.

"It says, Sunbeam of Death Avenue." The girl blinked at her a couple times.

"Really?" Her head tilted somewhat to the left, her mouth hanging open slightly. Rhea, kept her poker face for a moment before she started laughing.

"No, I've got no idea. Sorry kid," She straightened up, ruffling the girl's unruly spiked hair, skillfully removing one of the girl's silver earrings, "I don't read French. I'm sure a police man or woman can help you and when it doubt just find the Eiffel Tower. It's kinda hard to lose that thing." She jabbed her thumb in the direction of the tower. The girl smiled up at her.

"Kay! Thank you!" She ran off in the direction of the tower. Rhea waved halfheartedly at her as she disappeared.

"Weird kid." She looked around and then realized that in her wandering she'd lost the others. "Well, shit." She shrugged and started reaching out for Allen's aura. Her face scrunched up as all the colors around her blurred together.

_"I don't think this is a good idea." _The voice advised her.

_"I agree." _She shook her head, banishing the colors and started looking for the church itself. The others would meet her there eventually and if not Rhaps could always connect to Timcampy if they really couldn't find each other, she reasoned. An ear piercing scream broke her out of her thoughts. Whirling around she found the source of the sound. A large level two stood out in the large crowd of screaming, fleeing people. Groaning, she ran towards it. It's back faced her, which was odd, she noted.

_"What is it?"_

"Harlequin, activate!" The innocence rushed out from her sleeves, forming clawed gauntlets as she ran. Her eyes darted around only seeing one akuma. Another scream rang out from behind the akuma. She arched an eyebrow at the akuma looming over the girl, cowering as she covered her head with her hands, who had just been speaking to her. Thrusting her hand through, she ripped the skull out. She looked down at the girl as her innocence ate away at the akuma until nothing remained.

"Wow! That was so cool!" The girl exclaimed to her.

"Yeah, cool." Rhea agreed. "I thought you were going to the Eiffel Tower."

"I was!" The girl pouted up at her. "But then that monster appeared! It scared me. I didn't know what to do. I froze."

"It's understandable. It was an unusual sight certainly." Rhea shrugged again.

"Thank you so much! You saved me!" Rhea nodded, taken aback when the girl suddenly hugged her, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her head into Rhea's stomach right under her bust.

"No problem," Rhea patted her head awkwardly, "it's my job." All around her akuma exploded from the skins of their hosts. The girl screamed and clung to Rhea tighter. "Run. Run and don't look back." She ordered. Immediately the girl did as she was told. Rhea threw herself at the nearest akuma. Her eyes flying to the side, catching sight of the girl one last time. She held a pink umbrella topped with an orange pumpkin. Rhea tore the head of the akuma off, turning her back on the girl.

* * *

Road chuckled as she walked away, leaving the exorcist to do her job, with a skip in her step.

"Mistress Road, lero, why did you let the exorcist get away, lero?" Lero demanded.

"Hush now. I just wanted to see what she was like." The pumpkin's eyes narrowed.

"What, lero lero?" Why would you care about that? Lero, she's just another exorcist. She's making a mess of Master's beloved akuma, lero lero." The little golem argued.

"Silly Lero," she giggled, swinging the umbrella around as she walked away, uncaring as to why the exorcists was there in the first place, "She's Allen's older sister. I wanted to see what she was like! Allen is so soft and nice. I liked playing with him, but I could play different games with his sister. However to do that, I need to know what she's like. I don't think she's as nice as Allen. She wouldn't cry for an akuma. Didn't you see it?"

"Lero, see what, lero?" The umbrella asked as they turned down an alleyway, heading farther and farther from the exorcist and the rather large battle that had broken out.

"The look in her eye!" She cackled with glee. "She didn't trust me. She didn't trust me at all. Allen was completely comfortable around other humans. He didn't even blink when I approached him. He just started talking to me, answered my question and helped me. She sent me away. Lied and then sent me away. Yet she easily hid behind a laid back attitude and playful body language." Road explained as she silently debated on visiting a store or bakery to get something sweet to eat.

"That's, lero, lero, still not a good enough reason to let them destroy the Master's precious akuma. He loves them, lero!" The umbrella argued, though it did no good. He knew she couldn't be reasoned with. When Road wanted to do something she did it. No matter what happened or how other people felt about it. The Earl was the only one who could tell her no but he wasn't here to do so.

"They would've died anyway. These akuma are only level twos and Allen and his sister are by far more than capable of destroying them. Thus it doesn't really matter. This way I got something from it." She didn't pay attention to any of the people running around her. They seemed unaffected by her calm. That or they didn't notice. She didn't bother worrying about being hit. The akuma knew better.

"You don't know that, lero!" The golem protested loudly. "Lero, lero, one of them might've had an ability that could've taken them out with the element of surprise."

"No, I don't think so. Allen wouldn't stop, not until the soul was free, even if it meant that he keeled over dead after." Road pulled out a lollipop and began eating it. She didn't know if she liked this flavor or not. "As for his sister, shoot!" Road came to a stop. Her features pulled into a scowl.

"What?! Lero?" Lero demanded looking around for danger, perhaps another exorcist.

"I forgot to get her name." Lero slumped at her answer.

"How is that of any importance?!" It shook as it screamed and flailed as she grabbed it by the handle and swung it around violently. "Stop! Lero, lero! Stop, lero! You're making me sick!" Luckily for them, nobody was paying attention to the little girl and the shrieking umbrella that would have no doubt brought a few odd stares.

"Because," Road rolled her eyes, "I can't just keep calling her Allen's sister. Hmm," She thought about it before she finally exited to a calmer part of Paris without akuma, well without akuma ordered to attack exorcists. She walked into a candy shop as she tossed the lollipop away. She didn't like the flavor. She browsed the candy before her while she decided what she would call the girl until she got her name.

"What's wrong with "Exorcist" lero? It's what she is, lero." The umbrella whispered in her ear from where it rested against her shoulder.

"Because she's different than the other exorcists. I can't place it yet but she is. I wanna play with her too. I guess for now I'll just call her Walker. If she's Allen's older sister than that's probably her surname." Road mused as she grabbed an armful of candy. "Now be a good umbrella and hush!" She skipped to the counter without a care in the world.

* * *

"Hmm, well now, wasn't that interesting?" Rhea mused to herself as she walked towards the cathedral, though she was distracted by a blue pearl necklace, though broken she managed to find most of the pearls with some effort.

_"What was, Little One?" _The voice came back, having been quiet during the battle. It often was.

"The attack."

_"I'm afraid I don't follow."_ It sounded unsure.

"Ah, well it's simple. The girl was odd."

_"You already said that."_ It cut her off. She knitted her brows at the remark.

"Don't interrupt. It's rude." She chided. "As I was saying," she continued, "the girl showed up, with that dark cross by the way, talked to me and as soon as I sent her away she's "attacked" by a bunch of akuma. It's all just too convenient. Not to mention she had the Earl's golem."

_"You didn't see the face. It could have just been eerily similar."_

Rhea snorted, "Oh please. When did you become so gullible? Or were you always a sucker?"

_"Considering I am a part of you, doesn't that make you a sucker too?" _It countered. She smirked.

"Nope! Must mean you're something different. I don't trust anybody." She pushed it away as she walked up to the humongous church where she found her brother and friends waiting for her.

"There you are! I turned around and you were gone!" Zack was the first to greet her, still grinning.

"You okay, Rey?" Allen asked as she strode over to them. She smiled, noting the concern in his eyes.

"Yep!" She popped the p as she always did. "I just got lost in my head. I couldn't decide would would win in a fight. Sir Komlin," she snickered as Allen shivered, "or the Earl." She watched all of them open their mouths and close them again.

_"Little One...?" _The voice sounded deeply concerned.

Finally Lenalee managed to gather her thoughts, "Why?" Rhea grinned brightly, showing far too many teeth.

"Simple, I think we might have a brilliant weapon on our side if only it wasn't more concerned with all things Lenalee." She beamed as Lenalee's face started turning red. Allen shook his head.

"Rey, can you stay on task, please?" She shrugged but didn't say anything else on the matter. Instead she switched to their mission.

"Well we're here so why don't we see what the archdeacon can tell us?" She walked up the steps of the cathedral, humming as she went. As the song grew in her head, though the words escaped her, teetering on the edge of her mind, she began to move to the beat only she could hear. Allen shook his head, though he smiled at his sister. He watched her dance up the steps of the church without a care in the world. Lenalee joined him in smiling at her strange friend.

"She's right, let's catch up before she finds more mischief." Lenalee ushered the others after the more badly behaved friend. Allen's eyes darted over to Zack who's gaze lingered on Rhea. His eyes trailed along her figure. Allen's narrowed in response. "Zack?" Lenalee called when he didn't move. Reaching over with his foot, Allen hooked it around Zack's ankle and yanked his feet out from under him. Zack hit the steps hard.

"Oh! Are you okay, Zack?" Allen questioned, tilting his head to the side, curiously. "You should be more careful." Allen smiled down at him, eyes narrowing. "We wouldn't want you to get hurt, now would me?" Then it was gone. While Lenalee came back down to help Zack up, Allen continued up the steps after his sister with his innocent smile back in place.

"Hey," Rhea greeted as he came to stand beside her, admiring the stained glass windows of the church.

"Hey. Find anything interesting?" He asked looking up at the windows too. He could see how she would love them. The colors and pictures were beautiful. Rhea always had a taste for art.

"Are you two seeking God?" A voice inquired from behind them. They turned around, pulling their hoods down as they went. The found the archdeacon looking at them.

"No, not particularly." Rhea answered with a shrug. Allen shook his head and cleared up his sister's rather crappy explanation.

"What she means to say is that we're exorcists. We've been called to investigate the reports of the mysterious bellringer." The deacon's eyes found the rose crests on their jackets.

"Ah, yes. I've been expecting you. Is it just you two?" He asked, raising an eyebrow as he leaned back slightly.

"There you two are!" Lenalee entered the church with Zack trailing behind her, still rubbing the sore spots that connected with the ground.

"Hey Lenalee." They greeted in stereo causing the others to look at them oddly. "What?" They asked together.

"You two are doing it again." Lenalee sighed.

"Oh? We are?"

"You're still doing it." Zack answered taking a couple steps back. They shrugged but didn't speak again.

"It is nice to meet you, my children. I'm sure that God shines his light on his children doing his good work." The archdeacon spoke, though the others missed Rhea and Allen glancing at each other. Rhea rolled her eyes at her brother with a smile tugging at her lips.

"Thank you, I'm Lenalee," Lenalee introduced, "this is Zack," she motioned to him who waved. "And you've already met the siblings, Allen and Rhea." Both nodded at him.

"It's nice to meet you Sir." Allen smiled.

"You as well, my child." He nodded at Allen before turning back to Lenalee, though his eyes hovered on Rhea for a moment still hanging back behind her brother. "Tell me, how may I be of service to you?"

"What can you tell us about the stories of the bellringer?" Lenalee inquired.

"I can't tell you much. I don't know much myself. I've never seen it. We have our normal bellringer but this isn't him. If you need to speak to him I can call Edouard. I'm sure he'd be happy to help you." The archdeacon answered as he led them away from the windows and into the pews where they could all sit. Rhea didn't follow, instead she stayed by the wall, looking out the window. She tried her best to focus on the archdeacon's words, though the ringing, almost song like descanting in the back of her mind made it hard. She twitched, trying to banish it. She couldn't suppress the shiver running up her spine. The hairs on her arms and neck stood on end. Rhea bit into her lip. The archdeacon's words passing right through her. She didn't hear a single word he said. The shiver ran back down her spine. The joints in her spine clenched and her muscles seized up. Her chest trembled as her lungs and diaphragm spasmed. The buzzing grew louder and louder.

Thump. Ba-dump. Thump.

Thump. Du-bump.

Thump. Du-dump. Thu-thump.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Thump.

Ba-dump. Thump. Ba-dump.

Thump. Du-dump. Ba-dump. Thu-thump.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. The deafening headache was back. Right behind her eyes as usual. She reached up massaging the bridge though it did little to help. Hunching over she covered her ears to block out the non-existent sound playing in her head. Forcing air into her lungs, Rhea shot out of the church, throwing open the huge double doors so hard that they slammed against the walls. She flung herself off the steps, leaping over them completely, landing in a crouch, allowing her knees to absorb the impact before she was gone. Running into the crowd, boots thundering against the ground as she ran.

_"Where are you going, Little One?You just ran from your friends." _The voice was back but she ignored it. She couldn't focus. She ignored people, horses, carriages, anything and everything. _"Little One, calm down. Nothing is going to hurt you. You need to stop and take a breath. You can't keep running without breathing." _The voice advised with little success. She kept running.

BANG!

Rhea leapt to the side, as the giant akuma bullet hit the road where she had been standing just moments ago. She rolled to the side, landing on her feet, head jerking up to glare at the akuma laughing at her.

"Where are you going little exorcist? Ready to die?" It cackled loudly. Her eyes narrowed as her heartbeat returned to normal. An akuma was normal. She could deal with that.

"Don't you things ever fuck off?" She snapped.

"Die little bitch!" It snarled, firing more bullets. She danced out of the way with practiced ease.

"You still look a lot like a level one. What's up with that?"

"How dare you!" It snarled, as it's guns unfolded into larger cannons with cannons on top of cannons.

"Talk about overkill." She groaned. The cannons went off, destroying the street, sending everybody running and screaming.

"Harlequin! Activate!" The innocence slid off her extended left arm and began floating around her.

"Die bitch!" The bullets rained down on her. Yanking Harlequin up, the bullets hit the innocence and sent her skidding back.

"Gods above and below, I wish you fuckers didn't talk." She complained, before snapping her innocence out into a whip. The akuma fell into smoldering pieces. She looked around. "Is that the only one?" She saw no more. "Well that was weird." Her innocence crawled back up her arm. "I swear I'm losing my mind."

_"Well considering you hear a voice in your head that you claim isn't a part of you, I am going to have to go with, yeah, you are." _The voice chimed in. She slumped with a glare aimed at it.

"Not helping." She grumbled quietly under her breath. "Okay, where the hell am I?" She looked around. "Aaaaaand all the signs are in French. Well that's helpful. Fucking hell. Gods, can I do anything right?"

_"Don't be so hard on yourself. You were overwhelmed. It happens." _She could tell the voice was trying to make her feel better.

"I'm suppose to have a better handle on my own mind than that." She started walking in a random direction. "I don't know if anybody noticed." She sighed, dropping her head down. "Did you hear it?"

_"Hear what?"_

"Great, you didn't hear the music either."

_"No. I heard it. Clear as day. I thought you were singing again."_

"Nope."

_"Well that's interesting." _Rhea rolled her eyes at the voice's helpful commentary. Something to her right caught her eye. Her head snapped around.

"Was that...?" She trailed off, looking around. She vaguely heard the voice question her but she kept looking for it. There! Just turning the corner. She ran after him. What was HE doing here? She flung herself around the corner, almost tipping over in her hast. "Spe-" the words died on her lips. The dead end was empty. She whirled around and around but saw nobody familiar. "Okay I am officially losing it. I better find the others." She grumbled, her mood souring. Rhaps flew down from the sky, "Oh there you are. I almost forgot that I ran out without you. I'm sorry Rhaps. I didn't mean to." She smiled as the golem nudged her affectionately.

"Rhea! Rhea, where did you go? Rhea! Answer me!" Allen's panicky voice came through the connection.

"Oh boy. I'm in trouble." She sighed. "Al, I'm here." She heard him sigh in relief. "I just needed some fresh air." She explained.

"Fresh air?!" Lenalee demanded. "Rhea, you ran out of the church like a bat out of hell!"

"I know, I know, I can't explain it. I just couldn't stand it any longer."

"Yo, Rey, you okay?" Zack called.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. How about I just watch from the outside. If anything approaches the bell tower from the outside I'll let you know." She lowered her voice, "Rhaps, bring me back to the others. Find Timcampy." The golem began to lead the way.

"It's actually not a bad idea. Two outside and two inside. Both sides have a fighter that can move through the sky. I'll meet Rey outside! We can stake it out!" Zack answered before anybody could argue. "I'll meet you on the steps Rey!" Then the doors banged out and shut. Allen made a disgruntled noise.

"Shouldn't he have asked us if we were okay with it first?" Allen grumbled, whether to Lenalee or her, Rhea didn't know.

"Oh, Allen," Lenalee giggled.

"No! I'm serious! We should be deciding our plan together! He just took over!" Allen whined. Rhea smiled as she continued to hear Allen protest about Zack.

"It's okay, Al." Rhea pacified.

"Not with me." He griped under his breath, lips pulling down into a frown. Lenalee smiled at him gently.

"It's okay. Rey will be safe with him. No akuma will make it past Zack."

"That isn't what worries me." Allen glanced at the closed doors.

* * *

Nothing moved in the night, not even a cloud drifted across the sky. Zack looked around. He and Rhea sat on the roof of the building across from the cathedral. The moon shone brightly, illuminating the surrounding area in a heavenly glow. A moment where Zack remembered how gorgeous the world could truly be. For a moment the war no longer existed. Just the moon and the surrounding grandeur. His eyes flicked up to where Rhea sat. Whether or not she was looking for akuma or not was anybody's guess. Zack followed her distant gaze up to the sky. He moved towards her, mouth opening before he closed it and returned to his place. His mouth opened once more and then shut. He leaned forward, resting his weight on his arms only to pull back as a sharp pain surged through his left wrist. He looked down at the bruise that spread across his wrist and up his forearm. He'd landed on it when he fell on the step of Notre Dame. His thoughts drifted to Allen. A strange exorcist to be sure. When Rhea had first started gushing about her little brother he hadn't expected somebody like Allen Walker. They looked nothing alike. Clearly they weren't actually siblings. They shared no similar traits. Allen was British, Rhea was clearly mixed European, maybe something a bit farther. He was taller than her. They had different facial structures and even hair textures. Rhea's was curly and Allen's was straight. Allen seemed far more straight laced and rigid than his sister. Then again, until Allen showed up, Rhea had never displayed that kind of aggression before.

He moved his gaze from the moon to where Rhea sat on the spire. She had her hood down for the moment. The low moonlight highlighting her light olive skin with her inky black braids hanging down over her shoulders, brushing against her waist. Her bright grass green eyes focused on the starry sky. He sighed and settled down again. In moments like this he wished he could draw. To show her what she looked like to him. To everybody who met her. Everything she didn't see herself.

"There's somebody there." Rhea pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up, following the pointing finger. Sure enough a figure was climbing the outside of the church. "Rhaps, connect."

"What's up, Rey?" Allen asked after the golem had beeped.

"We have movement out here. Do you see anybody on the inside?" Zack listened to the conversation though he didn't give any input, instead he just kept watching the figure crawl up the outside wall.

"There's nobody inside." Lenalee responded, as a soft thump came through the connection. Lenalee must've flown up to look. "Are you sure, Rey?"

"Yes. I see him. Zack?" She turned to him, her captivating eyes locking with his. He nodded, slightly dazed. "Zack sees him too."

"Well perhaps we should approach him. If he's the one ringing the bells, and it's not Edouard, then we need to talk to him." Allen reasoned.

"Is it just me, or is that a really oddly shaped person?" Zack finally asked, watching as it climbed higher and higher. Rhea turned back to zero in on the man.

"Al," she spoke slowly.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"Have Lena fly you up. I think," she paused, chewing on her lip for a moment, "I think it's an akuma." She finally spoke after a few beats.

"Do you really think so, Rey?" Zack asked, taking his eyes off the person to turn and look at her.

"The shape is too strange and the way it's moving is unnatural." Zack focused on the man and his movements and soon found that he agreed with her.

"It's an akuma." Allen answered. "I can see it. From the soul, I'd say a level two." Rhea's eyebrows knitted together as she frowned.

"What's wrong?" Zack whispered, pulling himself closer to her. He now sat on the ledge with her. From his place by her side he could smell the spiciness that was Rhea. Cloves and cinnamon, maybe a bit of nutmeg. Moving closer, he inhaled, pulling the smell deep into his lungs. He wanted to remember every single little detail about her. As if she would vanish right before his eyes.

"I'll get it. Stay here." Rhea ordered, leaping from the roof.

"Rey! Wait!" Zack called, reaching out to grab her but she'd already flown too far.

"Harlequin, activate!" The innocence slid off her extended left arm. Rhea landed on it, as if there were a floor in the middle of the sky. The akuma turned around just in time to see Rhea descend upon it with her hook swords. The sharp curved ends tore through it before it had even recognized the coat. Her swords dug into the roofing as she slid down. Rhea could feel the burning in her arms. It had been a long time since she had used her muscles like this. "Apparently it's time to go back to actually working out. Better add it to my training." She grunted.

_"You've been rather preoccupied. Perhaps some rest is in order first?" _The voice sounded hopeful.

"Yeah, don't count on it." She mumbled back.

_"Yes, that is what I thought. I figured that I could at least try. You could do the same." _It pointed out. She rolled her eyes but settled in the shadows of one of the spires of Notre Dame to rest for a moment. She chewed her lip as her mind wandered. Why did I see him? Or rather why did I think I saw him? It's so stupid. He's just...her train of thought trailed off. She shook her head to banish the thought. _"A little preoccupied are we?"_

_ "Hush you." _She snapped back.

_"So I should not point out-" _She cut him off.

_"No you shouldn't. Now hush!" _She leapt back over to Zack with Harlequin's help again.

"Are you okay? You were over there for a few minutes." Zack asked as she settled back down.

"Yeah, I just haven't moved like that in a while. I'm heavier than I remember." She answered with a sigh.

"You..." He trailed off. His mouth opened of its own volition and then he snapped it closed. "I don't think that's true, you're just..." he paused. What word did he want? What word did he need? How did he respond to that?

"We've got another one. On the inside this time." Allen's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Are you guys okay?" Zack questioned, forgetting about his failed attempt.

"Yes. We've got this." Lenalee answered.

"Never mind!" Rhea shouted. "They're out here too!" Zack's head snapped around as the akuma poured out from every building.

"Shit! Are you guys swarmed too?" Zack called as he and Rhea dropped onto Notre Dame's roof.

"Yes!" Lenalee yelled back.

"Innocence activate!" The cathedral became a battleground. Rhea's eyes darted left and right. She couldn't see Zack at all.

"Here you are lit-" She cut the akuma off, slashing through it with Harlequin. All around her akuma fell in steaming pieces. Slash! Her hook swords tore into another. Screech! Everyway she turned she could hear the maniacal laughter. They danced round and round until her vision swam and she staggered. A heavy hit to her side sent her sprawling. She slid down the roof, fingernails desperately scratching at the roofing of the cathedral. Her fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms were covered in lacerations. Thunk! Thunk! The tips of her swords buried themselves in the roof. Rhea exhaled slowly as she hung off the roof, slowly she started to pull herself up.

"Oh no! You didn't fall all the way off! Don't worry, I can help you with that!" The closest akuma cackled.

"Uh oh." The only words that left Rhea's mouth before the akuma pushed her all the way off the roof. The akuma hissed as the innocence came in contact with it but continued it's mission. Rhea yelped as it stomped on her fingers wrapped around the grip of her swords. "Kin-" The akuma cut her off with a kick to her chin causing her to fall. "Harlequin!" The swords didn't move.

"Gotcha!" Zack proclaimed, grabbing Rhea's hand. "Don't let go!"

"Obviously!" She snapped back. "Zack! Behind you!" He whirled around, aegean eyes widening as the akuma drew closer.

"Two for the price of one!" It cheered. Bang! Yellow rods stuck out of it.

"Don't touch my sister!" Allen snarled, shooting it again as it keeled over.

"Your brother sure does have good timing." Zack grinned down at her, dark mane falling in his eyes. With ease he heaved Rhea back up to safety.

"They're still going for the bell tower!" Lenalee shouted as she landed. "Are you guys okay?!" Her eyes zeroed in on the blood pouring down Rhea's hands.

"I'm fine. Furious and pissed off but fine. It's just a scratch." She threw herself at the nearest akuma before anybody could ask another question. She spun and hacked away at the akuma, carving her way through the small army that had gathered, venting her rage out through the carnage. Pieces and fragments of akuma were spread all over the cathedral. Akuma blood oil leaked everywhere. It dripped, running down the walls and into the streets.

"Rey?" Allen called, voice wavering slightly, he reached out towards her, though not quite all the way. She turned towards him as she shoved one of her swords through the face of a particularly vexing akuma.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? Like actually okay?" His eyes darted from her bloody hands to her eyes, one of which was twitching.

"I'm fi-"

He cut her off, "No! Don't you dare say fine. You're not fine." Her eyes darted away from him, down to her feet. She shuffled back slightly, not really running away yet she still didn't move closer. Her eyes locked on the blood dripping off her swords.

"I'll be okay. I'm just..." She trailed off. Rhea opened her mouth and closed it again, finding it rather dry.

"Just?" He prodded. She looked around, finding no akuma she deactivated her innocence.

"Having a weird day...?" She offered weakly. He deactivated his innocence as well as he walked over to her.

Placing a hand on her shoulder he asked, "Do you wanna talk about it?" She chewed on her lip a bit.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

"Joy." She grumbled, heading over to the bell tower. "Now what the hell were they looking for?" Allen followed her as she climbed in.

"You think there's something in here?" Allen asked, ducking under after her.

"Well yeah," she glanced over her shoulder at him, offering him a hand which he accepted. She pulled him in effortlessly, despite her blood-soaked fingers. He glanced at them, feeling his own fingers slip through hers, slicked by the crimson liquid. His eyebrows furrowed at it. "The so called "sightings of the hunchback bellringer" have all been akuma. So they had to be looking for something. My guess that it's innocence or what they think is innocence." She explained easily, studiously avoiding his gaze. He watched as she ducked in and out of the bells, hitting each of them gently.

"Find anything, Rey?" Zack called from outside the tower. Allen frowned at his loud volume.

"Not yet." He answered, doing his best to avoid being snappy.

"Yes!" Rhea cheered. "This bell!" The biggest bell convulsed as Rhea struggled with it. CRACK! She reappeared with a brilliant grin on her face, waving the clapper, almost the size of her own body, excitedly. The rounded end glowing radiantly. The tell-a-tale sign of innocence possession.

"Did you just vandalize the largest bell of the Cathedral of Notre Dame?" Zack questioned, tilting his head to the side, his mouth hanging open slightly. "With a smile on your face?" She grinned at him.

"It's innocence! Besides, it's technically still property of the church. Just in a different form." She shrugged, her grin turned impish. "Anyway, let's go home. I'm tired. So can we get down now?"

"Yeah, we need to have those wounds of yours tended to." Allen nodded his head at her arms.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. You're not going to let it go until it happens so let's just get this over with." She tossed the clapper to Zack who staggered back a bit to catch the thing.

"Jeez, Rey, you just tossed this like it was nothing!" She glanced at him over her shoulder, though it was halfheartedly. "Are you lifting weights or something?"

"No, not really, maybe. I dunno." She shrugged. "Are we going down or not?"

"Yeah, let's go." Allen agreed. "Rey, can you give us a hand?" He questioned. She nodded.

"Harlequin, activate." The black liquid slid off her left arm and then formed an intricate staircase. The others descended down the stairs. However Rhea turned and headed back into the bell tower. "Hey little guy." She cooed crouching down and moving closer centimeter by centimeter. In the corner of the bell tower sat a nest. A single black fledgling ensconced in it. All around it, black stars spread across the walls, piles of ash now being blown away in the wind. The bird, a crow, if she made the correct assumption, squawked at her but still she crawled closer. "Oh, I know. You want your mama and daddy. I'm so sorry little bird, but they're gone. I'm so sorry out fight took your parents away. I wish I could fix it for you." She murmured. Slowly she reached into the nest, the bird watched her every move, carefully reaching back into one of her many pouches. She retrieved one of the many packages of mixed nuts and berries. Opening the bag she held out a couple nuts to it. Gradually the fledgling reached out for the food. Smiling she gathered up the baby bird and descended the stairs. Rhea kept the bird tucked in close to her, using her own body to protect it from the wind. "You need a name, don't you? If you're gonna stay with me. What should I call you?"

_"Are you really going to keep it, Little One?" _The voice asked, having been quiet since she'd returned to the church.

_"Well I can't just leave it. The akuma killed it's parents and siblings. It's all alone in this big scary word." _She pet the little crow on the head lightly, marveling at the sheer fluffiness of it. Something shiny caught her eye. Turning she found a shard of green glass, halfway buried in the ground. The little crow cheeped upon seeing it. She grinned down at it. "Yeah, you like that, huh? Me too." She bent down and picked it up. "We'll figure out something to do with it. What do you think?" She placed the shard of glass, carefully, into one of her pockets and sealed it shut.

_"Little one, you're talking to a crow, you do know that, right?"_The voice sounded deeply concerned.

_"Oh hush you." _She pushed the voice away and went back to cooing at the chick, huddled in her bloodstained gloves.

_"Little One..." _The voice complained.

"I know! What about Caco? I think it's a good name. Yes, a good name for my new fine feathered friend."

_"Little One," _The voice tried again with no luck.

"Rey! Are you coming?" Zack called, waving at her as best he could, still carrying the clapper.

"Lagging behind won't save you from being treated, Rhea." Allen reminded her, raising an eyebrow at her, as if daring her to try and run.

"I know, I know. I can't say that I care that much. It's just some bandages. That's all." She fell into step with her friends and brother.

"Good. I-" Allen trailed off upon seeing something in his sister's hands move. "Rey. What do you have?" He inched back warily.

"Yeah," Zack agreed, coming a bit closer to get a better look over her shoulder, "what do you have there?" Lenalee huddled closer in with the boys.

"Oh! You mean Caco?" She held out her hands allowing them to see the little crow.

"Is that a bird?" Lenalee asked, getting a bit closer. Slowly she reached a finger out, Caco froze for a moment before leaning in slightly, allowing Lenalee to scratch the top of it's head.

"Uh, Rey, you do realize that you're holding a bird, right?" Zack questioned, staring at her, with his head cocked slightly to his right.

"Yep! His name is Caco!" She smiled cheerfully at him.

"Rhea, where are we going to keep it?" Allen groaned, then he saw the frown and knitted brows on her face. "Him! Him! Where are we going to keep HIM?" He quickly corrected. The look faded away and the smile was back.

"Well for now he's gonna stay with me. He's too young to be away from his mother-"

Zack interrupted, "Then why did you take him?" She turned the look back on him.

"I didn't just take him! That would be a horrible thing to do! The akuma virus killed his parents and it was our fault! So we have to take responsibility for what we've done!" She snapped through gritted teeth, stomping one foot on the ground. She glared one final time then whirled around on her heels and stomped off.

"I said something I shouldn't have, didn't I?" Zack asked.

"Yep." Allen answered plainly, before he followed after her.

"Don't worry Caco, I won't leave you alone. You're safe with me. I promise." Rhea whispered snuggling the bird close.

* * *

"YoU cAn'T eScApE~!" Rhea bolted straight up in bed. Sweat soaking her entire form. Rhaps jolted from her pillow where Rhea's head had been only moments ago. Gasping deeply, she tried to steady her breathing, desperate not to wake anyone else. They didn't deserve to lose sleep just because she couldn't control her mind. Grabbing the fabric of her, Lavi's, shirt she started to fan herself, trying to cool her heated skin. On her desk, in a homemade nest, courtesy of the science department, Caco slept peacefully.

"Breathe! Think! Okay, name five things you can see." She instructed herself through her hyperventilating. "Number one, Caco, number two, my desk, number three, the mechanical cat I'm building, number four, my chair, number five, my hands." She focused on her bandaged hands for a moment before closing her eyes. "Okay five things I can hear: number one, my own breathing, number two, Rhaps moving around, number three my blankets shifting, number four Caco snoring, number five Lavi snoring." Her breathing slowed and she settled against the wall her bed was pushed up against. She knew that Allen slept just on the other side of the wall but she couldn't feel farther away. She pressed her palm against the wall, almost reaching for her brother.

_"Why don't you go see him? I'm sure he'd understand that you had a nightmare." _The voice chimed in.

"I don't want to wake him. He needs sleep. I'll be fine. There's no need to bother him. He has his own nightmares-"

The voice cut in, _"Exactly! He won't fault you for needing comfort."_

"I don't want to take away from his sleep." She sat in the dark silence of her room for several heartbeats. "Rhaps," she called softly, her voice cracking slightly, the golem drifted up towards her mistress, "connect to Argos." The golem chirped when the connection was made.

"Yeah...?" A sleepy voice came from the golem.

"Hey Niko," she greeted weakly, "can we talk?"

* * *

"Nightmares aren't just bad dreams.

They're bad memories.

Memories which you never want to face.

But they haunt you every single night."

― Pallavi Amarlapudi

* * *

**Okay! So we saw more of Zack and Rhea's drifting mental state. I can't wait to hear what you all think. Rhea met Road but doesn't know who she is yet. We'll see how that goes. I've really got nothing much to say here. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! See you later! Cheshire's out~!**


	6. Chance Meeting

**Welcome back my darlings. I know I've been gone for a while, I'm sorry if some of you thought I wasn't coming back. I can assure you that if I ever stop writing this story I will tell you. Everything has just been so hectic but I imagine that like me you're here because you're trying to get away from it so I won't bring it up. I apologize for vanishing on everyone. I want to thank all those who have reviewed and keep with me all this time! You all mean so much to me! I can't thank you enough for all your love and support! Now on to the reviews!**

**Dear Alexc1209, Well I can't tell you if you're on drugs or not but I hope for your sake you aren't. But the voice in Rey's head, if it's not a hallucination then what do you think it is? I can't wait to hear what you think! Yep! Road wants to play with Rey, what that means for her is anybody's guess but we'll find out! Enjoy!**

**Dear Wolfs Child, I'm glad to hear that there were no complications and that he's healthy! As for Conflicts of Interests, it would need to be reworked but I'm open to trying again, if that's something that you would like! I did like the story line personally. But again it would change to Rhea. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Arkytior's Song, There's no need for you to apologize! I'm the Queen of being late! I'm just grateful for a review at all! I'm always happy to hear from you! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Bloodmoon25, So Rey seems unstable? Can you tell me why please? I'm interested in knowing what you are counting and what it makes you think of? I'm always excited to hear what my readers think! The nightmare, huh? Yeah that was pretty hard to write. I wasn't completely sure about it and rewrote it more times than I'm willing to tell you! Let me know what you thought of it. I can't answer any of your questions because they have to do with the story but I'd love to hear your theories! Unfortunately coffee is the more accessible of the two so I'm just gonna roll with that! Thanks for your concern though! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Kyokosa2gawa015, Hi! Nice to meet you! Thank you so much for reviewing! Awww, you're making me blush! 15 does that so much and now you're doing it too! You're so sweet saying those things to me! I can't wait to show you them falling in love too! As for who's side she'll take, well you'll just have to keep reading to find out! For more Tyki and Rey scenes just keep scrolling. ;D Enjoy!**

**Dear 15****th****, Hello my wonderful and forever faithful 15****th****! I've missed you so much! I should've updated sooner! Yes, unfortunately the holidays are always too short though I ended up working Christmas Eve but that's normal, unfortunate...again XD. I love our talks too! I always look forward to your reviews! I apologize for being gone for so long DX I'll try not to do it again. Thanks for the compliment! The story itself has some meaning to Rey but I also wanted it to be something interesting and hopefully more unique. Would you like to see more fairy tales? Rey has admitted to wanting to do something with the sleeping death curse. Should I indulge her? Please stay safe and healthy! I look forward to hearing from you again! Enjoy the chapter! **

* * *

I'm lost in this moment

Time slipping past

When I'm with you

I am home

* * *

"Madrid?" Rhea demanded. Komui looked up from his paperwork. "We just got back from France, now you're sending me back out? I thought we were hunting the Generals down!"

"I know and I'm very sorry for this, Rhea, but it's important. After what happened with General Yeager-" He stopped abruptly when her gaze snapped away from him. The memory flashing before her eyes and for a single moment she heard the song again. "I'm sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean t-"

She cut him off, "It's fine. It's in the past. So what does this have to do with anything? I thought we were going to be looking for the Generals."

"You are. Every exorcist is being put into a team and being deployed to find a general, once you do you have orders to protect them. It has become clear that the Noah clan is targeting the generals hoping that one of them has the heart. Whether this is true or not is unknown but even if it is not we cannot allow another general to perish." Komui answered. "You have been assigned to General Cross," he silently noticed the wince as if she were in physical pain, "along with Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, and Bookman. His trail leads east with his last known sighting in India by Allen." Rhea just shook her head with a sigh.

_"You are not surprised?" _The voice asked curiosity lacing it's tone.

_"Not a bit. It's just like Master." _She responded lazily before tuning back into Komui saying something about the innocence in Madrid.

"-so we cannot allow this piece to fall into the hands of the Noah."

"And I'm the only one with innocence that can act as transportation." She groaned, connecting the dots of his thought process.

"Your innocence can move faster than any trains as well as fly over oceans and lakes. You will be able to catch up with your group." Rhea whimpered silently at the logic of it all, wishing that she didn't have to do it, already knowing that she would be on her own for days and days with only Rhaps for company and her own imagination for entertainment. In the back of her head she heard the voice make a snide comment about her being lazy but she ignored it in favor of learning more about the innocence from Komui, though she did pause to give it the metaphorical middle finger.

"So what's it doing?"

"What's what doing?" Rhea glared at the man, arms crossed and hip cocked out, foul mood leaking from her body.

"The innocence. What else? We were just talking about it!"

"Oh yeah," Komui said, causing her to roll her eyes.

_"Again I ask you, are we sure he's brilliant?" _The voice chimed in.

_"So they say. Now stop interrupting." _She shooed it away.

"Ahh, that." Komui nodded before straightening up and fixing his glasses, finally deciding to be serious. "Rumors have been springing up about a green amulet with an unearthly glow. The amulet is said to cause bad luck. The rumors are centered around an old cathedral on the outskirts of Madrid. The church originally took control because of the rumors that it was haunted. Believing it to be a demon possession they tried to exorcise it, it did not work which led them to turn their theory to innocence. Unfortunately bad things happen to those who put it on. Recently it's been stolen several times but always returned after tragic things happened to whomever took it. The new priest who knows of the Order requested that we investigate. The finders I sent have called and they agree. I need you to go. You'll have to hold onto it until it can be handed over to a general or can return it to Hevlaska but I wouldn't count on the last one. It's going to be a while." She nodded at him.

"After I retrieve this piece of innocence I'll be joining up with my team in looking for Master, right?" Komui nodded.

"I'd like you to leave Madrid, head to Barcelona, cross the sea to Sassari then to Rome. From there you can travel across Italy and the Adriatic sea and head to Romania. General Cross hasn't been seen since India but we believe we have a lead that he's in Romania. Hopefully you will catch them before he gets much farther." She nodded.

"Yes, it will probably take a little longer and most likely meet up with the others in or around Ukraine." She agreed, making her own prediction. Komui dipped his head in agreement.

"Rhea, listen to me very carefully, this is important." Her eyes darted up to meet his, startled by the sudden seriousness in his tone. "I need you to check in at least once everyday with Rhaps. Preferably twice. The Noah clan is hunting the generals but that does not mean they won't stop to kill you. Due to you using your innocence to travel I cannot send any finders with you. You'll be all alone with no help even if you called," he sighed, leveling her with a severe expression, "and it worries me to send you all alone but I have no choice. We have entered the final stage of the war and you are soldiers." Rhea watched as his eyes hazed over, no doubt thinking of Lenalee as he reminded himself of this fact more than her. She could understand it. War the only thing many of them had known. Both Kanda and Lenalee had been young when they were found to be accommodators and taken away to fight for humanity, whether they wanted to or not. She and Cross found Allen at the tender age of ten and she herself had only been seven. For a moment she found herself back in the country where she had been born, cold and hazy she vaguely remembered Cross' towering form looming over her. She heard nothing he said, his mouth moved but she heard nothing. She shook old memories away.

"Of course. I'll check in every day. I'll do my best to check in twice a day if it will make you feel better. I'll check in before I head out and when I stop for the night." She smiled causing him to return the favor.

"It would, please be safe." She nodded at him again and turned to leave when he spoke again, "For Allen's sake if nothing else." Rhea paused mid-step. Komui sighed, pleasantly surprised that his words seemed to affect her. Allen seemed to be a rare gift indeed.

_"It seems that life is changing." _She hummed to the voice as she left Komui's office.

_"Oh?" _It inquired, she could almost see the raised eyebrow and slight smirk.

_"Yes, I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more interesting." _She began to pack her bag, throwing in clothes, herbs, bandages, her sketchbook, various pencils, a few small knives, her lighter, a pack of cigarettes, and other miscellaneous objects.

_"What kind of interesting?"_

_ "There are different kinds?" _She questioned back innocently.

_"Don't play dumb with me, Little One."_

_ "Very well. I believe that we'll start meeting some new people. Won't that be fun?"_

_ "Fun? What do you mean fun?" _The voice sounded suspicious which only caused her to laugh.

_"As I said, meeting new people-" _The voice cut her off.

_"You don't like people. You don't trust them. Why would you want to meet more?"_

_ "Rude!" _She huffed before explaining, _"You're right. I don't like people but hopefully the Noah will be more fun than the akuma. Maybe liven things up a bit."_

_ "Little One, these people are trying to kill you," _The voice sounded concerned, _"They should not be treated lightly. This is not a game. You are fighting for your life. Your life and your brother's life which holds no value to the church." _The last sentence sounded tentative, almost as if he regretted saying it. She stayed silent for a while. Her train didn't leave til morning yet socializing felt like too much work, instead she reclined on her bed, arms tucked behind her head, toying with her loose hair idly. Allen needs to make friends, she thought with a sigh, even if he won't have them for long. _"That's a dark thought." _The voice commented, wondering if she had dismissed it's earlier point.

_"Master-" _She stopped, her thoughts drifting to the red haired man who she would soon be hunting down with her brother.

_"It's been a while since you've seen him." _The voice supplied.

_"It has, and yet, I still haven't forgotten his words."_

_ "He warned you about the Noah clan?"_

_ "Yes." _The voice thought about asking for more information but thought better of it. Instead it retreated, leaving her to brood over the enigmatic Noah clan for most of the night, only falling asleep in the early hours of the morning.

* * *

"Miss? Miss?" Rhea woke with a start, almost activating Harlequin, her head snapping wildly around. The train attendant who had been trying to rouse her jumped back, holding his hands in the air. "I'm so sorry to wake you but we've arrived in Madrid."

Covering a yawn as she sat up from where she'd been curled up she spoke, "No need. I didn't mean to startle you. Thank you for waking me. It would've been embarrassing to accidentally ride the train back and have to do it again." The employee nodded and left. Rhea watched him for a moment with a critical eye, when he made no move to come back she disembarked the train, vaguely noticing than another man got off right after her.

As she wandered around the streets, her eyes darted around noting anybody and everybody who got near her or moved oddly. So far nothing had happened. She received several strange looks but brushed it off as her uniform. Skin tight clothing was unusual to say the least. Her eyes darted over her shoulder. A lumbering figure shambled after her.

_"If you get weird stares why don't you wear a dress over it like your friend does?" _The voice cut in on her observation.

_"Lena?" _She questioned, arching an eyebrow.

_"Oh, is that her name?" _He sounded uninterested. _"Either way she gets less stares then you."_

_ "Lenalee is also about a thousand times prettier than me. It works better because people look at her and expect her to be a certain way. She's pretty and soft, like a lady would be, or the way they want them to. I don't. I don't look anything like Lena." _Unconsciously her fingers wrapped around her left braid and tried to straighten it and the wild hairs that stuck out of it. _"I never have and never will. Not much I can do about it. Best to leave it in it's dark hole and hope it starves." _She tossed her braid back over her shoulder before thinking better of it. Reaching back she tied her braids back and pulled her hood up over her head. In Rhaps smokey reflection Rhea caught a glimpse of the man that had been following her since she left the train station.

_"Are you worried?"_

_ "No," _she paused, glancing at the reflection once more. _"Not about him anyway."_

_ "Your brother?"_

_ "Yes, I didn't sleep well."_

_ "I know."_

_ "I'm tired of these nightmares." _She veered off the main road and down an alleyway and slowed to a stroll, still keeping an eye on the man, through Rhaps. _"They keep cycling. It's either about Yeager, HER, or the Noah taking Allen. I don't even know what they look like." _She covered her face with one of her hands as she came to a stop, taking the moment to compose herself. _"I only see shadows, with the stigmata and wide grins. Not even the gold eyes I know they have." _She started walking again, taking steady even steps.

_"Your imagination is getting the better of you." _He warned her. A large hand wrapping around her shoulder, meaty fingers digging into it drew her attention away from the voice and to the man spinning her around. Her back hit the wall and she made a small sound. The man that towered over her covered in grease and dirt. His stringy hair hung in his face and he smelled of stale cigarettes, flat beer, and cheap company.

"Give me all your money and I won't hurt you." He growled, lips curling back to reveal a sparse group of yellow and black teeth.

She smiled up at him pleasantly, "I don't have any." She watched as his lips pulled father back and he screamed, his eyes squinting at her and blood rushed to his face.

"What the hell do ya mean by that?" She leaned away as he bellowed.

"Do you mind getting out of my face? Your breath is rancid and I'm pretty sure that vein in your forehead is going to explode." She noted, eyeing the vein as if it would soak her in blood.

"You little-" She cut him off, a sudden left hook sent him across the alley and into the wall. He grabbed it to regain his balance. "You wanna fight?" He wiped the spit from his chin with the back of his hand. He swung at her only for her to duck out of the way. His hand connected with the bricks causing him to yowl in pain. Swinging around him, as if she had been dancing, she kicked out, dropping him to his knees. He fell with a quiet thump. Fingers threading through oily hair, she slammed his head into the wall until he didn't move. He crumpled to the ground when she let go. Not sparing the limp body a glance she left the alleyway, Rhaps fluttering after her.

"Hehehe hello, little exorcist!" Rhea looked up to find a level two clinging to the side of the building. "That was so cold!" It cackled as it flung itself off the wall at her. Rhea shot forward, rolling out of the way.

Whirling around she called, "Innocence activate!" Black smoke rushed through her sleeves, forming a battle axe with a wickedly gleaming blade. With a swift strike, one of the many legs of the spider like akuma came off. It screeched and flailed, leaking oil over the street. All around her people screamed and ran from the massive creature. She leapt at the akuma as it skittered away, bringing her axe down on it again, another leg falling to the ground. Then another and another. In a flash of swings six of the eight legs had been sheared away.

"I don't know you," it coughed dragging itself into the shrouded alleyway away from the exorcist stalking forward. "You, who are y-" SHINK! The blade whipped out.

"Deactivate." Rhea ordered, leaving the alleyway, the head rolling away. Digging into one of the pouches on her hip she plucked the directions that Komui had scribbled onto whatever scrap paper he'd found. She glared at the illegible writing, before looking around, and seeing no cathedral in sight. "Damn it! I can't read this shit! Fucking hell! I can read Allen's, Master's, and Niko's handwriting, how the hell can I not read this? Can anybody or do we all just pretend that we can?" She demanded to Rhaps who bobbled up and down.

* * *

Rhea cursed more as she wandered down street after street. Finally finding a church, not the one she'd been searching for, she noted, she wandered in, hoping to find somebody to tell her where the cathedral stood.

"Can I help you, my child?" Rhea jumped when a priest spoke, her head snapping over to see him standing just behind the door she'd opened. Rubbing the back of her head, mussing her plaits a bit, she stepped out from the doorway. His kind brown eyes widened when they found the rose crest on her chest. He offered a bow, "How may I be of service Lady Exorcist?"

"Please," she waved her hand in front of her, "you don't have to call me that." The finders did it all the time, but the priest shouldn't have to. I don't even really like it when they do it, she thought to herself. She rubbed her hand along her arm and dropped her gaze.

"Of course, my apologies." He replied. "What can I help you with?" She looked up at him again.

"I'm looking for a certain cathedral, unfortunately the directions that were given to me are illegible. I was hoping that you could help me."

"Oh!" Are you here to collect the cursed amulet?"

She nodded, "If I can find it."

"You're not too far off. If you-" He didn't get very far.

"Father Fernandez?" A young woman had come in behind Rhea. "I need your help!" She blurted out. Rhea swung around. "I fear something terrible has happened!" Thundering footsteps could be heard rushing towards the church. The woman spun around, slamming the door on whoever had been running.

"Maria! Maria, let me in!" A man bellowed through the heavy wooden door. Maria struggled to keep it closed.

"No! You're not Diego! I don't know what you are but you're not Diego! Not my Diego!" She shouted back, tears streaming down her face.

"Maria, just listen to me! Please!" He kept pounding at the door. Maria pushed harder. The door banged as they both pushed in opposite directions.

"Maria, what's going on? Are you and Diego fighting?" Father Fernandez asked, rushing over to the still sobbing girl.

"No! That's not my husband! It's not! That's not my Diego!" Rhea listened to the fight. Slowly she walked over, leaning against the other door, which had been locked when she came in. Through the crack she could see a man with brown hair, in his early 30s, with a crazed look in his too wide eyes.

"Yes I am!" He roared back.

"NO! You haven't been the same since your sister died!" Rhea arched an eyebrow at that.

"She was only 12! She was murdered! How could I just go on with it! How could you be so cold!"

"Open the door." Both Maria and Father Fernandez turned to stare at Rhea. "Open the door. It will be okay." She promised Maria softly, reaching over to brush her tears away.

"Trust her, Maria. If you trust me, then trust her because I trust her." Father Fernandez spoke gently. Gulping, Maria nodded and stepped away from the door. Father Fernandez pulled Maria back, and out of the way as the door swung open and crashed into the wall.

"There you are." The man stalked in, heading straight for Maria who quaked behind Father Fernandez.

"You must be a level two to have this much thought and energy." Diego whirled around to find Rhea still leaning against the locked door, arms and legs crossed casually.

"Exorcist!" He shrieked, lunging for her as he shed his skin. Maria screamed upon seeing it crumple to the floor.

"Activate." Rhea ordered, cracking her neck as she headed for the akuma. Harlequin slid into the battle axe once more. She met the akuma head on as her innocence sliced through it and it's head rolled away. It exploded as Rhea landed on her feet, Harlequin leaning against her shoulder. "Man, these things are getting more and more brazen." She turned to Maria who slowly came out from behind Father Fernandez, "Are you alright?" The woman didn't move, her eyes locked on where Diego's skin lay.

"How long? How long was he dead?" Maria finally managed to choke out.

"Perhaps it's best not to know." The priest tried to comfort her.

"Did he suffer?"

"No," Rhea paused, thinking of how the akuma kills it's summoner, "it was quick." She answered as Harlequin deactivated, sliding up her arms once more. Maria sank into one of the pews. "She'll need help. Seeing an akuma is not something you get over quickly, some never do. Never mind when it's a loved one."

"I will see to it. She will get the help and support she needs." Rhea nodded.

"Good. Now," she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, "about that cathedral?" She spoke hopefully.

"Right, of course." She handed him the paper again and he looked at it for a moment. "As I said before, you're not too far off. I can see how you got confused. You're right, this writing is illegible." She shrugged restlessly. "If you exit the church and take a left go all the way down the street, take another left, then go about half way down that street and take a right. From there you should be able to see it. Then you take three lefts and four rights. Then down that street take the third left and that will lead you to the main street and the cathedral is all the way at the end." She nodded, glancing up to make sure Rhaps had recorded all of it.

_"How the hell did that illegible scribbles translate into that?!" _She demanded to herself.

_"Perhaps he forgot a few steps?" _The voice answered, amusement clear in his tone. She made a face in response and returned to her conversation with the priest before he realized what had happened.

"Thank you, Father. I should be going now."

"Be safe on your journey, my daughter. I will pray that God watches over you and all who put their lives on the line for the sake of the many." She inclined her head at him and swept out of the church.

_"Tell me, Little One, why do churches make you uncomfortable?" _She ignored the voice.

"Rhaps, connect to Argos." Rhea ordered.

"Yeah...?"

"Sleeping the day away again, Niko?" She giggled softly.

"Sorta. Not really my fault." She grinned as the boy argued, she could see his face as if he stood in front of her in that very moment.

"It never is." She teased. The knot that had formed in between her shoulder blades when she had been in the church melted away. "And how is that? Did you stay up all night, reading again?"

"No, not last night." He didn't deny that it had happened before, "I may have, possibly, snuck into Lord Rodriguez' personal study to, uh, liberate," she snorted at the way the last word spoke almost like a question sounded so much like her own way of wording things. "A few of his books. Nothing important, just a few rare and priceless ones. He won't even notice that they're gone...probably...most likely...possibly...?" She started laughing loudly, as she turned down an abandoned alley.

"Good job, Niko. Truly. That's wonderful!"

"It's not like he understood them anyway!" He snapped back at her.

"Anything good?" She asked as her boots clacked against the cobblestone.

"I wouldn't waste my time if it wasn't." He snorted, rolling his tired brown eyes. She could see it.

"So? What'd you grab? You're killing me with the suspense." He laughed dryly at her response.

"We both know it takes a lot more than some suspense to kill you. You're practically unkillable."

"I think you're confusing me with Master." She argued.

"I don't think I am, but okay." A ribbit sounded from his end. "Hush, you. I already fed you. Your arguments are invalid."

"He givin' you lip again?" She grinned.

"Yes! He's taking after you. This is all your fault!"

"ME?!" She protested, "What did I do?!"

"You gave him an attitude." He huffed.

"It's not my fault you can't control your own pet!" She argued back, snorting slightly as she took another left turn. "Now what kind of books did you _liberate_?" She changed the subject before they fell into their normal bickering that could go on for hours.

"A few runic books. Some from vikings, some from druids. One of them looks Russian. I found another book in Latin."

"Are they all magic books?" She could hear him rifling through things. A few familiar curses slipped past his lips and something fell. She giggled to herself as she recognized the thump sound that meant something had fallen on his head.

"No, I found a few that are on old herbs and medicines. Some of these herbs are extinct, Rey. I'm not sure even you could do anything about it. This book is older than anything. Even Master." They both burst out laughing at that.

"I dunno, Niko. Master is pretty ancient. Might even be older than the Earl himself."

"I think Master is older than the Earth itself."

"Then where does he come from, Niko?" The light of the sun began to dim as it set behind the horizon but she didn't care. People bustled around her but nobody got close enough that she felt she should be worried about them being an akuma.

"Hell." He snorted. "Clearly." He stated, as if the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right, of course. How stupid of me to forget that."

"Yeah, I mean really, Rey. How could you?" The church came into sight. She sighed upon seeing it.

"Hey, Niko, I gotta go now, but I'll check in with you later. Dig through the books a bit and tell me if you've found anything interesting."

He sighed, "Yeah okay."

"I'm sorry. I wish we could talk more."

"I know," he sighed again, she could picture the way his eyes would dart down away from hers and to the floor. She wanted to reach out for him but she couldn't. "You've got a job to do. I won't hold it against you."

"I'll catch up with you soon. I promise."

"I know. Be safe." He called. She looked up at Rhaps right before the call disconnected.

"I love you Nikola." She smiled as he stammered on the other side as the call disconnected and then she stepped into the church.

"Welcome Lady Exorcist!" The priest greeted as soon as she set foot inside. She jumped back, catching herself before it became obvious. She inched away from him subtly. "I am Father Lopez, I was the one who contacted the Order. The finders are searching for the amulet, I apologize but it appears that I've lost it. I swear I only turned my back on it for a moment but alas-" She cut him off by holding a hand up.

"It's fine. It happens. I've met my fair share of thieves." She waved him off.

_"You mean yourself, Little One?" _The voice asked, smirking at her.

_"Hush you." _She pushed him away and returned her attention to the priest who had started talking to her again. She listened as he told her about his own experience with akuma and an exorcist he'd met when he'd been a child, nodding every so often to signify she was listening.

"I'll never forget the way his gun felt to me. You give the same feeling though you don't have his red hair." He noted.

"It's not the exorcist himself, but the innocence he carries. I carry it too." She allowed him to inspect Harlequin as it slept on her skin.

"I joined the church immediately after he saved me. I knew that God had saved me for a reason and I would do anything to help him as he had done for me." She smiled awkwardly as he continued, clearly lost in his own memories.

"Could you tell me about the innocence and it's power?" She tried to direct the conversation back to the original topic.

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Ah, I can't tell you much about it. I've never put it on due to the fact that anyone who is foolish enough to do so perishes. The very few who do survive are never the same. Often they are taken to a safe place."

"They're thrown into an asylum?" She questioned, lips curling back in disgust.

"Unfortunately, that is what the families chose to do." Her fists clenched in her lap until her nails bit into her palms and her knuckles turned white.

_"Don't lose your temper. I know you don't like it but there's nothing you can do about it." _The voice calmed her raging emotions. _"You aren't there. Don't let them drag you down, don't forget what you do have. Allen, Niko, Cross, these people are your family. Don't worry about the rest of the world. Let it go." _He ordered. She sighed.

_"Yeah I know, I just don't know how some people can do that. I guess family doesn't have the same meaning."_

_ "Nothing you can do. Focus on your mission. Why don't you visit Niko when you're done? He's somewhere near here isn't he? Lord Rodriguez's main mansion is around here, isn't it?" _She smiled at that thought and unfurled her hands, stretching her fingers out.

_"Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks for helping me keep my head." _The priest continued to talk, giving her the regular signs of all around craziness. She nodded as he spoke, cataloging the signs and listening as the rain began to pelt the roof of the cathedral.

"Will you be able to handle it?" Father Lopez asked after a moment, a look of fear crossing his face.

"Only a person who wields innocence can so yes, I'll be fine. Anyone else," other than a Noah, she added silently, "will succumb to it's powers."

The conversation ended when the huge double doors opened allowing a group of finders to shamble in. She stood and strode over to them, "Did you find anything?" Out the door she could see that the rain had started coming down harder.

"I apologize, but we have not. We've been searching all day, otherwise I would've personally met you at the train station." Rhea waved the weary finder off.

"There's no need to apologize, I am completely capable of getting here by myself." She pushed away the voice, cackling loudly. "Madrid is a large city and the amulet could be anywhere. If we're lucky it's still in the city. You have no reason to baby me when we have a piece of innocence to find. You're all exhausted, and I can see it. We can continue searching in the morning, after we've all had a good night's sleep and some food."

Father Lopez leapt to his feet, "I'll get that started on that right away! You need nourishment!" He rushed away.

"Thank you." Rhea called after him, he nodded at her over his shoulder. She turned back to the finders, "Well come in out of the rain and sit down. You'll catch your death of cold out there." The finders all trudged in and collapsed into the pews. One of them sat next to her.

"My name is Alexander and I'm the leader of this group." She nodded at him to continue. "Unfortunately the amulet was already gone. It was taken earlier the day we arrived. We've been searching since. Nobody has seen it. I wanted to have it back before you arrived but as you have seen we have failed."

"You have not failed. You only fail when you don't try. You've been looking and thus you have not failed. You merely have yet to succeed." She answered with ease. "Oh, how rude of me, my name is Rhea." She offered him her hand, which he shook gently, a smile playing on his features, "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Lady Exorcist." Alexander nodded.

Please, you need not call me that."

"It would be disrespectful to call you anything else!" Alexander argued.

"Dinner is ready!" Father Lopez interrupted the conversation. "Please follow me to the dining room." The finders followed the priest while Rhea found that she no longer felt hungry. Instead she departed from the cathedral out into the courtyard. She swung up into the tree with the ease of years of practice. Finding the highest branch that would hold her weight, she settled on it.

"Rhaps, play a lullaby, whatever one is up to you. I just need music." The dark golem perched above her head and began to play the clip, over and over. It floated through the air, carried by the soft breeze, carrying the fresh, crisp air. The rain had ceased during the conversation she had with Alexander. The haunting music box like melody soothed the whirling of Rhea's mind allowing her to settle in. The softly murmured words along her mind, keeping the voice quiet as she picked out the constellations in the stars and heard the stories play in her mind.

* * *

Alexander and Rhea traveled the streets of Madrid, searching for the lost amulet. Rhea's eyes drifted around slowly. She can feel her eyelids drifting low. She needed coffee. Without a word to Alexander she veers off towards a small cafe. She steps in and orders coffee. Then another and another. Alexander watches with wide eyes as she drinks five cups of the caffeinated beverage. He opened his mouth and closed it again multiple times as she drank it.

"I've never seen somebody drink that much coffee other than a scientist." Alexander stuttered, eyes still as large as dinner plates. Rhea looked up at him, chewing her lip for a moment.

"Yeah, I kinda don't sleep well, so I drink a lot of coffee." She ruffled her plaits sheepishly.

"I can understand that. Sleep is hard to come by in the world." She nodded, feeling less sheepish about it. A scream drew their attention before anything else could be said. A young woman took shaky steps away from a large group of akuma with all guns pointed at her.

"Oh boy." Rhea groaned.

"Well that looks bad." Alexander commented but Rhea had already taken off, running out of the cafe, pulling the liquid innocence from her skin.

"Get her outta here, Alexander!" She could already see the green glow from around the woman's neck told her that they had found the innocence but so had the akuma.

"Yes Lady Exorcist!" Alexander shouted, flinging the woman up over his shoulder and ran off, back to the safety of the cathedral. She glanced back at them once before turning to the akuma waiting for her though she could still hear the woman screaming.

"Why is it that all they ever do is scream? Can't they at least scream AND run at the same time?" She grumbled to herself. The akuma hovered all around her. A mix of level one and twos surrounded her.

"Quickly! After the innocence!" One of the level twos howled.

"Harlequin, activate!" Rhea shouted, leaping up, the gleaming axe blade slicing through the closest akuma. Three level ones were next, sliced into steaming pieces. Another level two lunged at her only to lose it's head. She whirled around and took another level one down. Taking a deep breath, she grabs her axe, and leaps, twisting the blade in her hand, round and round. Another level two gets too close and dies. Another level two gets close, it's large stinger spiking out towards her. She sheared the stinger from it's body and then cleaved it's head from it's body. Another level one lost it's head to her glimmering axe. Seven more level twos lunged for her, causing her to dance around carving the heads away before turning on another group of level ones.

"I know you,"' one of the level two akuma hisses when she lands. She turned towards it, arching an eyebrow at it.

"Oh? And who am I to you?" She questioned, shearing through four more level ones, ignoring the explosion of the dying level ones.

"You, the others speak of you." The level two, an odd looking serpentine like akuma with strange legs sticking out from it's body. It skittered back and forth, looking for a way around or behind her.

"And what do they say of me?" She inquired, spinning the blade in her hand with an easy flourish.

"The little upstart! You've been appearing and disappearing all over! Causing the Master great sadness, I can't wait to return to my lords with your head!" It cackled and then lunged. Rolling her eyes she met it head on, her feet touched ground as it's head rolled away. "I guess it's true." It spoke one last time as it died. Three level ones led by a single level two made their way towards the cathedral. Rolling her head around to look at them with a groan.

Sighing at them, "Looks like it's gonna be a long day." She groaned and rushed after the fleeing akuma.

* * *

Twilight had fallen on Madrid by the time Rhea trudged back to the cathedral. Exhaustion clung to her body and soreness filled her muscles. Every time she finished, more would appear. Her innocence laid against her skin, completely still, unwilling to move more. Her energy vanished at a frightening pace during battle. Pushing the large door open, she stepped in, hoping that she could just sleep. Chaos met her. She slumped as she took it all in. Reaching out she snagged a finder by the hood of his jacket halting his hurried movements.

"What's got everybody so excited?" The finder looked relieved upon seeing her.

"Lady Exorcist!" The man grasped her hands, hope lighting up his features. "The woman carrying the innocence has fallen to it's power! She's attempting to fling herself from the cathedral! Father Lopez and Alexander are trying to stop her but it's not working! She's so close to the edge! Alexander tried to remove the innocence but it wouldn't come off and only seemed to set her on her path of death!" Rhea groaned, rolling her eyes once more she stopped the finder's frantic babble.

"Enough! Take me there now!" Not even bothering to nod the finder took off, leading her to the woman and the innocence. "Alexander shouldn't have touched the innocence." She groaned as Rhaps flew with her, a constant reminder that she wouldn't be able to escape. Thundering up the stairs she took them three at a time, already overtaking the finder with ease. Throwing the door open with a band she ran over to where the other two stood. Father Lopez offered the woman his hand.

"Please, let me help you." Father Lopez begged. Alexander saw her as she skidded to a stop in front of the woman.

"This is Rhea! She's an exorcist! She knows how to handle the innocence. She can make the voice go away." Alexander told the woman, trying to coax her down from the edge.

"She has been given a gift by God." Father Lopez spoke softly, "Trust her and she can help you. Just let her help you." He pleaded. "It's what we're here for. Just let us help, Child."

"Can you really get rid of it?" Her large blue eyes looked at Rhea, who slid closer and closer, hopefully, the dark shadows under them rivals her own, indicating nights of insomnia likely innocence induced.

"I can help but only IF you let me help you. I need you to come here please. It will only take a moment." The woman blinked several times.

"I'm so tired, but it won't let me sleep. No matter how much I beg." Rhea smiled, doing her best to let her sympathy show through.

"I know, I know. I don't sleep well either. I truly understand, I do. I can make it go away. Just let me." Rhea held out her hand, "Please just come here." The woman shook her head, backing away, towards the edge.

"What if you can't? I just want to sleep forever. You can't do that can you? I've tried. It won't come off. I've tried!" She sobbed, getting hysterical.

"I understand that you're exhausted, but taking your own life won't change anything. I promise I can help." Rhea crept forward millimeter by millimeter. Still reaching out for the woman with her hand. The woman stood, only a hairsbreadth from the edge.

"I'm sorry." Rhea's eyes widened at the warning as the woman let herself fall backwards off the cathedral, arms spread out wide like wings.

"Wait! Lady Exorcist!" Alexander and Father Lopez shouted after her as Rhea dove off the cathedral after the woman. Rhea's fingers wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her close into her embrace.

"Harlequin! Activate!" The metal slid from her skin, twisting around them over and over, creating protective layer after layer until Rhea and the woman were completely hidden from sight. The cocoon hit the ground with an earth shattering crash. The entire cathedral shook, sending everyone to their hands and knees. Slowly the finders gathered around the metal cocoon, waiting with baited breath. Everything stood still, just waiting.

"Are they okay?" One of the finders asked, shifting closer and closer a little at a time.

"Lady Exorcist!" Alexander rushed out of the church, and down into the crater. "Lady Exorcist?" He called again. The cocoon didn't move. "Lady Exorcist, can you hear me?" Alexander began hammering on the cocoon with his fist.

"Are they dead?!" Father Lopez demanded, sliding down into the crater after Alexander.

"Let's hope not!" Alexander yelled back.

"Boy, you guys just went straight for the worst scenario." Rhea's voice carried through as the cocoon cracked and then fell apart revealing both Rhea and the woman, unharmed. The finders cheered with joy. Rhea handed the woman off to Father Lopez barely concealing a groan behind clenched teeth. The young woman immediately clung Father Lopez and began sobbing as she begged for his forgiveness. Alexander offered Rhea a hand which she accepted. Alexander heaved Rhea to her feet, as Harlequin slithered back up her arms.

"Are you okay, Lady Exorcist?" He inquired worriedly. She nodded stiffly. "Are you sure?" She nodded again, making sure to appear less stiff than the time before.

"I'll be fine in a few days. A few bruises at most. I've done worse to myself." Alexander's deep eyes betraying his thoughts. She could see he didn't believe her. She shook his worry off and walked over to the woman who'd yet to let go of the priest. "May I take that off you?" She asked. The woman nodded, tears still streaming down her face. Reaching around slowly, in case the woman bolted, Rhea dug her fingernails into the knot and slowly untied it. The necklace came off with ease, sliding up and over the woman's head. "Ta da! All better. Now you just need some sleep." Rhea watched as the priest led the woman inside.

"Now, are you actually okay?" Alexander rounded on Rhea once more.

Rhea sighed at him, "It's not a major deal, it was only a few hundred meters." Alexander shook his head at her.

"Does your brother know you do these kinds of things?" Rhea froze, mid step as a shudder ran through her at the thought of what would happen if her family found out that she had just flung herself off a cathedral. "Guess not." Alexander snickered after a moment. "Well I won't tell but you should really take better care of yourself. You won't be able to shake those kinds of wounds off forever." Alexander pointed out.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Rhea sighed, waving him off. As long as nobody found out she would survive.

Rhea vanished from the church before the moon had fully risen. Alexander shook his head when he found the empty room. He'd come to bring her to dinner but the exorcist's room stood empty.

"Good luck Lady Exorcist." He shook his head one last time and turned back, heading towards his rapidly cooling dinner. The exorcist would be fine. He'd seen her flight. "You're one hell of a woman. I almost pity the next opponent you meet." He let the door swing shut, leaving the room shrouded in darkness.

* * *

In the light of the moon Rhea ran down the street, giddy with excitement, "Rhaps, track Argos! It's time to see Niko! I'm in the mood for some company." She grinned as her golem led the way. Sneaking through the streets, she weaved in and out, ignoring the people who stared at her. Her excitement washed away her cares about it. As she got closer she could feel Niko's presence. Slipping into his hideaway, she snuck up on the boy, who, predictably, had his nose buried in a book. A huge wicked grin spread across her face as she leapt, taking the teenage boy down to the ground with a battle cry. Niko gave a startled yell as he crashed to the floor. Argos, fluttered out of the way, joining Rhaps high in the air, recording the chaos of the pair flailing.

"Rhea!" Niko protested as he struggled, squirming to get out from under her. "Rhea get off! Rhea! You're fucking heavy!" Laughing loudly Rhea rolled off of him.

"Come on, Niko, don't be like that! I've missed you!" She grinned at him.

"You," he glared at her as he sat up, "are a terrible, horrible, no-good sister, you know that, right?" Rhea reached over and ruffled his already messy brown hair.

"You're still alive because of me." She snorted, settling down on one of the many pillows strewn about the small hideout.

"I would've survived just FINE on my own!" Niko snapped back, smacking her upside the head with the heavy leather bound book he'd been reading when she jumped him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say, dear little brother." Rhea smiled at him, despite him hitting her with the book. She batted at the book lazily as he continued to swing at her.

"I thought you were on a job." Niko finally stopped hitting her with the book and settled down next to her.

"I was." She acknowledged. "However I finished and decided to have dinner and sleep here with you instead. I'd rather your company than a legion of finders. They all stare at me like an animal at the circus." She waved off the question, doing her best to banish the memories of the way the finders all stared at her.

"Ahh, yes, I can understand how that would feel. Heavens forbid other people treat us as if we're human too." She smiled as her brother rolled his eyes. His dry sarcasm comforting to her.

"So," she changed the subject, uncaring of her lack of subtlety. She didn't need it with her brother. "What did you find? Dig up anything more interesting? Whatcha reading when I came in?" She readjusted on her pillow.

"You mean before you attacked me?" He accused. She smiled, completely unapologetic.

"Yeah, before that."

"Well, actually one of the books I took was a book on mythology. I was in the middle of one of the stories before I had an intimate meeting with the floor." He glared at her reproachfully. She continued to grin at him.

"Well don't stop on my account." She spun around on her pillow, so she now leaned against Niko, squirming a bit until comfortably slumped into his side, her head resting against his shoulder, hair sprayed out over their backs. Shaking his head at her Niko opened the book, flipped back to the beginning of the myth he had been reading. Rhea closed her eyes as Niko's voice started to paint a battlefield before her eyes, one with crows circling above, foretelling the outcome.

* * *

"Do you really have to go?" Niko asked as they walked to the train station, late in the next afternoon.

"Yes, I should've left this morning." Rhea sighed, ruffling her hair.

"You can't stay another night?" He whined, trailing after her, his pet sitting in his pocket. She smiled at him, yearning to give in to his wishes.

"I wish I could. I really do but Allen is waiting for me." Rhea reminded him. Niko sighed.

"I know, I know. Allen needs you more than me. I am relatively safe here but Allen tends to jump head first into danger."

"Don't I know it." Rhea sighed in agreement with his comment.

"You're going to take care of him, right?" Niko asked, turning his head towards her.

Rhea nodded, "Yes."

Niko was quiet for a moment, almost as if he didn't want to say anything. She could see him chewing the inside of his cheek, his own personal tic that only she and Allen knew of. Though she figured that Cross probably knew. "You'll come back, right?" She smiled brightly, nodding.

"Of course, there's no need to worry, Little Brother! I promise we'll come back and when we do Allen and I will sneak out to see you. We'll have dinner and celebrate." He smiled back at her.

"We'll celebrate your birthday since we missed it." Niko pointed out which Rhea waved off.

"Oh, that's not important. It's not such a big deal." Niko reached over and smacked her upside the head. Rhea whimpered, rubbing the wounded area. "What was that for?!" She protested.

"Stop acting as if you aren't important. Allen and I care about you and we're happy you're alive, even if you are a twit," he muttered causing her to stick her tongue out at him, "so stop brushing your birthday off. We like it!" She smiled, a ribbit emitting from his pocket, almost as if agreeing with it's master.

"Okay, okay, okay." She smiled, holding her hands up in surrender. "When we get back from hunting down Master, we'll celebrate my birthday and probably Allen's with the way this is going." She sighed. Niko's eyes dropped down to the ground as they walked. Rhea's eyes snapped over to him. She smiled softly, "I promise that Allen and I will be back in time for your birthday. I swear." His eyes shot to hers and then away, as a blush spread across his face.

"I didn't mean it like that I-" Rhea shook her head, cutting him off.

"Don't worry about it." She pulled him into a one armed hug. "I know you didn't mean it like that. I still think that it's cute. You're my adorable little brother." She ruffled his hair as the train pulled into the station. "I love you. I love you and Allen and I promise I will take care of you both." Niko blushed brightly as she showered her affection onto him.

"Okay! Stop it! Gross!" He turned away, face still burning as he pushed her off. Rhea laughed in response.

"Alright, I'm done. Now it's starting to get dark so you should head home. I don't want you to be hurt or mugged." He nodded.

"Please be careful as you go. Take care of our silly little brother, don't let him do anything stupid!" Rhea nodded. She climbed onto the train. Rushing through the halls she opened the window to call to her brother.

"I won't let him do anything I wouldn't do!"

"That's even worse!" Niko shouted back at her. Grinning she waved back until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Are we all here?" A woman's voice asked, looking around the room, dimly lit by a scarce amount of candles.

"No," a man replied, "but enough of us are that we may begin. The others are completing their assigned tasks."

"Very well. Which order shall we start with?"

"The most pressing of course." The man answered, snapping his fingers another man stepped into the room, the light bouncing off his greenish blond hair. "The Eldest, is it awake?" He asked the blond.

"No. I cannot find it at all. The Eldest still sleeps. Either the accommodator has yet to be found or it has taken a different shape. If it's the second one then there's a possibility that it will awaken." He reported.

"Should we be worried?" A different woman asked, speaking for the first time, a man's top hat sitting on her head.

"I do not think so. The Order does not even know about it. I went through all of their files, there's nothing on it." The blond replied.

"Perhaps they decided to keep it a secret." The first woman suggested. The blond shook his head.

"No, something that powerful they would document thoroughly."

"What do you think, Auryn, you're the oldest among us." The woman in the top hat questioned, turning to the man that stood to her right leaning on an ornately carved shillelagh.

"I saw we leave it for now. If they do not know about it then we should let it sleep. If we poke it then it may awaken. That would be the last thing we need." He spoke in a raspy tone. "The more important matter at hand is finding the source."

"Do we have any leads on it?" The first man asked. All eyes turned to the blond.

"Yes and no."

"You lost it?!" The first woman shrieked.

"Enough!" The order from the woman in the top hat came out sharply, silencing the entire room, then she turned to the blond. "Explain." He opened his mouth but paused when an automobile pulled up outside. Two people got out and entered the compound.

"Are we late?" A soft younger feminine voice asked as they came into the room.

"We apologize. It seems that something big is happening. It appears those fools are going at it again." A different male voice snorted. Both came to stand on either side of the woman in the top hat. She smiled at them both. Leaning over to kiss the man on the check and then to the woman and kissed her too.

"It's not your fault. Let them fight. It won't get them anywhere. It's best to just ignore them." She advised before turning to the blond. "Continue your explanation."

"The source has been hidden from us for many years, no doubt by a guardian, however for some reason it seems to no longer be under protection. It is muted but traceable. It flares up and then dies down. It's like that all the time. Up and down. It appears to be mostly hiding though; shielded behind a powerful glamour."

"Can you find it or not, boy?" The first man snarled impatiently. The blond rounded on him, glaring.

"Do not call me boy." He growled.

"Oh," the first man taunted, "and who's going to stop me? You?" He challenged. "Now there's a funny thought." He started to laugh causing the blond to lunge for him.

"Enough!" The woman in the hat shouted, both froze in midair, an invisible power held them. Waving her hands in separate directions, she flung them away from each other. "Honestly, can't you two get along? We are family, you don't leave, so you better start getting along."

"Quit embarrassing yourselves." The newest man rolled his eyes at them.

"How about you just quit embarrassing us." The softer female voice added. The blond glared at her as he was set down.

"I don't see how you get to bitch, Miss Priss," he sneered at her, "I'm doing all the work while you only complain about it. Once you start doing some actual work, other than spreading your legs," he snorted, "then you can tell me how to do things, until then, be a good doll and shut the hell up." He got up, dusted himself off, and left the room, heading back to his own quarters, uncaring of how she responded.

"Well!" The younger woman huffed looking through the doors that the blond had left through, "He's getting rather high and mighty! Somebody should put him back in his place!" She glared at the doors as if they were the blond man himself.

"Calm down," the woman in the hat told her, "though he is young and brash and not always polite-" the young man cut in.

"He's never polite. I agree with Sister, he needs to be put back in his place."

"Noted." The woman with the hat's clipped tone, told them not to interrupt again. Both got the message and bowed their heads in apology. "However he is the closest to finding the source. We need him for it." She explained easily.

"I could do it." The young man grumbled.

"If you could have done it we would have sent you." The first man cut in, rather snappily, finally getting up and brushing himself off.

"Though young and brash," Auryn spoke causing them all to fall silent and turn to him, "he is an invaluable member of our troupe and the best suited for this task. He will grow out of it. We must give him time and gently lend a hand when he needs it. We do not wish to drive one of our own away." he stated sagely.

"Even so, perhaps somebody should go with him, not to interfere but just to keep an eye on things?" The first woman proposed.

"I say we give him a chance to prove himself, if I feel that it's going poorly then we will step in." The woman in the hat finally spoke.

Auryn spoke again with a nod of his head, "As you wish, Viola. We will follow your lead."

Viola smiled wickedly.

* * *

Rhea rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stepped off the train. Night had long since fallen over Barcelona, the moon high in the sky. Stretching her stiff limbs she looks up at the moon as she straightens up, admiring it for a moment.

"First quarter, huh?" Her eyes quickly spotted the massive herds of akuma spread through the sky. "So much for getting any sleep tonight. Well at least I got some sleep last night. Niko sure does make a comfy pillow." She hums. "Still, another night of sleep would be better." She sighed. A woman stepped closer.

"Did you say something, Miss? I didn't hear you the first time." Rhea's eyes drifted lazily over to the woman who took another step closer to her as she started talking to her. The woman, clearly of noble birth, glided with her fancy maroon dress swaying in the light breeze that blew through the almost empty train station. Her pretty golden blond hair fell into tight ringlets held back with diamond pins. Rhea's eyes immediately went to the pins.

_"Something wrong?" _The voice asks.

_"I want those pins. I really want those pins." _She could see him shaking his head at her but she just ignored it.

"I said so much for getting any sleep tonight. Those things," she pointed up at the akuma in the sky, "are all over the place." She smiled at the woman, her fingers curling up into her sleeve, tugging on Harlequin. She hissed an activation word to her innocence. The woman moved towards her, jerking slightly as she did.

"Don't worry little exorcist, I'll help you sleep forever." The akuma shed it's human skin as it dove, making it only a few centimeters before Harlequin lodged itself between her eyes, it's skin still clinging to the akuma in some places.

"Too slow." Rhea sighed. "Work, work, work," she sighed, pushing her old leather messenger bag behind her left hip, she headed into town. "Keep close Rhaps. Let's not get lost again, or eaten by a cat," she smirked at the golem, "shall we?" Then she shook her head, "Komui and Master would kill me if that happened." Harlequin floated around her as she walked deeper into the city, deactivating it would be stupid. "Man, it looks like it's gonna be a long night." She notes to herself.

_"Are you sure you're up to it, Little One? Perhaps you should sit this one out. I'm sure there are others that can handle it." _The voice spoke as she paused, for a moment he hoped she would consider his suggestion. Instead she turns on her heels and went back to the body. Bending down she plucked the diamond pins from the limp hair, setting them in her pocket, and continued on her path. _"Isn't that considered graverobbing?" _The voice questioned.

_"No. There's no grave." _The voice rolled it's eyes.

Well into the night and Rhea found herself wishing that she'd been wrong about the night. Instead she found herself surrounded by akuma. All around her the akuma cackled to themselves, pitying the poor defenseless exorcist they'd cornered. Rolling her eyes, she waved her hand across her body from shoulder to shoulder. Following the direction Harlequin solidified into large feathers, hovering in the air above Rhea.

"Let's go." Swinging her arm out at the giant group of akuma she sent her innocence hurtling straight through them, skewering the akuma and killing them instantly. As soon as they died, twice as many took their place. "Aw for fuck's sake." She groaned, flicking her fingers back towards her body, Harlequin rounded on the new akuma and sliced through them. "Are they ever gonna end?" Jumping from the ground, to one of her feathers she climbed high into the sky. Moving from feather to feather she could see over the city, watching the finders that scurried around the streets, she looked for other exorcists with little luck. She glanced up at Rhaps, still fluttering by her head, "Am I really the only one here?" The sound of metal whipping in the wind alerted her to the akuma flying at her from behind, leaping out of the way, she twisted in the air, turning to get a look at the new akuma. A level two chortled as it swung around to face her as she landed on a different feather.

"Well, well, well, looky looky what I found! A hooded priest with the wretched crest. Looks like I found an exorcist! This should be fun!" The rest of the feathers melted and flew to her hand. The innocence hardened into the battle axe. "Oh boy! What's that?! I can't wai-" The akuma didn't finish as Rhea's axe sliced through it, ending it's life.

"All work and no play." Rhea sighed. "When's something interesting gonna happen?"

"Where are you guys right now?" Rhea's head snapped over to where Rhaps flitted about. Kanda? That was definitely Kanda's voice.

"Around 3 kilometers east of that odd tower, I think." Rhea grinned brilliantly, Daisya's voice came through next.

"I'm west of it, probably about 5 kilometers." Marie answered next.

"I'm to the south." Kanda finished.

"Hey guys!" Rhea chirped.

"Rhea?!" She giggled in response. Surprise laced their voices.

"What the hell are you doing here, Woman?!" Kanda demanded.

"Wow! Rude! Would it kill you to be pleasant for a change?" Rhea snapped back, glancing around, taking in her surroundings now that the akuma had been cleared out.

"Don't mind him. He's just hiding the fact that we're all happy to hear from you." Daisya covered as he golem crackled a bit.

"Oi! Don't speak for me!" Kanda yelled at Daisya. Rhea hopped down from her hovering feather, sliding down the wall into the safety of a shadowy alley. She allowed herself several deep breaths, steadying her lungs.

"Are you alright, Rhea? You're breathing heavily." Rhea shook her head, unsurprised that Marie noticed the way she breathed.

"Just tired. Not really a big deal." He grunted but didn't press the subject. "Anyone know what's with the sudden surge?" Rhea questioned. "Is General Tiedoll nearby?"

"We believe he passed through recently." Marie answered when it became clear that the other two weren't going to.

"I thought you were heading east with Lenalee and the beansprout." Rhea rolled her eyes at Kanda's nickname for Allen and how it bothered him to no end. Boys, she scoffed in her head.

"I am. Just happen to be passing through right now. I had to make a detour to Madrid first. I'm on my way to catch up with them now. I'm jumping from here to Italy. Just stopped for the night, not that it really matters now." Rhea groaned at the last part.

"Will you be alright, traveling all on your own for so long? It's quite a ways to the others. Last time we heard, they were in Romania and it's been a little while since then." Marie asked, concern lacing his tone. Still it managed to pull a smile from her.

"Of course. I'll be fine." Rhea answered.

"Yeah, Rey's tough!" Daisya confirmed, causing a wider smile.

"Can we get back on topic? The woman's too fucking stubborn to die." Rhea rolled her eyes at Kanda's bitchy tone.

"Yeah, sure." Rhea and Daisya spoke in unison though Daisya's golem made a snapping sound and almost dropped the signal.

"Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Be quiet, Woman!" Kanda snapped back.

"Where should we regroup?" Marie asked, diverting the conversation before the pair could start a fight that he and Daisya would have to listen to. He'd broken up enough of their fights to know the warning signs.

"You're pretty old Marie. Why don't you stay put and the rest of us will make our way to you." Rhea frowned as Daisya's golem crackled more with static.

"Will you be okay, Dai? You're not coming in very well. Is something wrong with your golem?" Rhea inquired, eyebrows furrowing. Marie smiled at the question. Rhea alone could get away with shortening Daisya's name.

"Of course I'll be fine! Don't worry about me, Rey! My golem's just a little banged up." She could see him waving her off.

"Hit it with Charity Bell again?" She drawled.

"Maybe." He answered sheepishly.

"Yeah," Rhea snorted.

"When should we meet?" Marie asked.

"Daybreak." Kanda ordered.

"Right!" They all chorused.

"Oi! Woman!" Kanda called.

"Hmmm?" She stepped out of the alleyway, Harlequin freezing into a battle axe. A horde of akuma already advancing on her.

"I better see you there." His tone told her he wouldn't discuss it with her. She would be expected to be there.

"Yes sir!" She mock saluted and lunged for the closest akuma. Marie chuckled at them both. Kanda didn't hide his feelings nearly as well as he thought he did.

"Be safe." Marie whispered though found himself wishing he could be certain they would be.

* * *

Rhea's eyes flickered to the east, causing the voice to ask, _"What's wrong, Little One?" _She continued to stare in that direction. She stood north of the tower but couldn't shake the cold hand clenching her heart and the heavy stone that had settled deep in her stomach.

"I've just got this funny feeling that Daisya's in trouble. I can't say that I'm comfortable with his golem coming in so poorly." The voice stayed quiet for a moment, as if contemplating something.

_"I'm sure your friend is fine." _He told her. She shook her head.

"No, I can't shake this feeling. It's been bothering me for a while." She reached out for his aura but found herself overwhelmed by all the colors. "Damn, he's too far away."

"Killing..." Rhea's eyes snapped back to Rhaps. Too much static came from Daisya's golem for her to make out anything else.

"What did you just say?" Kanda asked, though he got no response.

"Daisya?" Marie called but the golem didn't make another noise. Rhea narrowed her eyes.

"Daisya?" She tried. "Daisya! Answer me!" A lump formed in her throat. "I'm not kidding, Daisya! Answer me right now!" Rhea snapped. She growled, as Harlequin shot over to her, forming a board just in time to catch her as she leapt off the building.

"Rhea, what are you doing?" Marie questioned.

"I'm going to check on him. Something's not right." She hissed as Rhaps clung to her shoulder.

"Daisya's perfectly capable of taking care of himself." Kanda claimed, though the slight tremor, almost undetectable, in his voice betrayed him.

"I'm not taking any chances, not with Daisya's life." She responded.

Rhea sped through the air, weaving in and out of the buildings, her board slicing through any akuma dumb enough to get in her way. Closing her eyes she reached out for his aura once more and this time found it. Latching onto it she flew towards him, like a bloodhound on a trail, silently begging her hammering heart to steady and whatever deity listening that she'd be in time. She dropped out of the sky, rolling across the roof, crouching down to hide and observe. Seeing Daisya hanging upside down from one of the sparse lamppost with Charity Bell on the ground a meter away caused her to arch an eyebrow at the scene. This isn't an akuma's doing, movement caught her eye, pulling her out of her thoughts. A few steps away stood a tall man, shrouded in shadows. He strode towards Charity Bell and into the light with the grace of a big cat. His dark features betraying him as a Noah.

_"That idiot! What the hell was he thinking?" _She hollered in her head.

_"It seems he bit off more than he could chew." _The voice mused, causing her to reach out and smack it.

"Peachy, just peachy." She groused, Harlequin melting into shadows and sliding down the wall at her direction.

As Harlequin slunk through the shadows the Noah spoke his voice deep and smooth causing the hair on the back of her neck to rise, "Any last words?" He reached down to shatter Charity Bell.

"Well," Daisya grinned at him, "I was never bored."

"Ugh!" Rhea rolled her eyes at her idiot friend's chosen last words. "Go!" She ordered her innocences. Right before the Noah could lay hands on Charity Bell Harlequin rose up from the shadows, taking it's true form it roared in his face, Charity Bell wrapped in it's protective embrace. Dropping to the ground Rhea flew through her innocence feeling it solidify into sleek layered gauntlets with monstrously gleaming claws at the end of her fingers. She smashed her left fist straight into his face before he even saw her coming. She skidded to a stop as he soared through several buildings. Rhea felt the twinge in her arm and immediately twisted her arm sharply to the side as if twisting a key in a lock. Need to be more careful, she hummed, I didn't feel it unlock, she turned to face Daisya, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"What are you doing here?" He stuttered upon recognizing her narrowed lime colored eyes from under the shadow of her hood.

"Pray tell how this seemed like an appropriate course of action?" She demanded through clenched teeth.

"Uhhhh..." Daisya trailed as his brain desperately raced for a good excuse to appease his friend.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Her seven centimeter talons sliced through the chains holding him to the lamppost like butter.

Daiya yelped when he hit the ground, "Ow! You could've warned me." He grumbled while rubbing his head. A flick of her fingers had Harlequin toss Charity Bell to him. He caught it, ignoring the stinging in his palms from the impact.

"Maybe that'll knock some sense into you." Rhea sighed, before turning her gaze to the dust cloud still hiding the Noah from sight.

Tyki pulled himself from the smoking ruins of the building he'd destroyed when he had gone sailing through it. Phasing through bricks and other debris he heaved himself to his feet. He waved his hand to clear away the dust from his face allowing him to breathe better. His other hand pressed against the side of his face, attempting to staunch the blood pouring from his raw bloody muscle. The punch, at least it felt like a punch, broke his nose, cheekbone, and jawbone. He could feel the broken pieces grinding against each other. He would've gritted his teeth had he been able to. It had been quite some time since somebody had landed a hit on him. Where the punch had connected still smoldered. The innocence burned the skin right off on contact. Blood seeped into his previously white gloves irreversibly staining them. Staggering out, he grabbed onto the wall next to him as the world spun for a moment. Finally he turned his attention to the exorcist he'd been about to kill earlier he found there now stood two. The kid, Daisya he'd said his name was, sat on the ground as his comrade read him the riot act. His eyes widened when they took in the curvy figure revealing the other exorcist to be a woman.

He tried to move his jaw with no luck. In the back of his mind the Noah memory commented, _"Idi...ot." _He rolled his eyes at the memory.

_"Instead of bitching at me why don't you work on healing our injuries! Why the hell didn't you see her coming! Mighty hunter my ass!" _He snapped back at the memory who gnashed his teeth at his host. Tyki rolled his eyes at it.

_"Idi...ot. Fa...il. Use...less...idiot." _Tyki glared at the memory continued to call him names and just give him shit in general.

_"If you're so fucking great why didn't you see her coming?" _He repeated his question but the memory simply turned it's back on him.

"Are you fucking serious?" He asked, unaware that he'd just said it out loud. "Forget it, I'll deal with you later." He turned back to the exorcists, the girl still yelling at Daisya though he couldn't catch the words or pinpoint her voice, she sounded familiar. He contemplated her for a moment. Didn't know girls could be exorcists, he mused. She's the first I've seen. I wonder if there's more, he shook those thoughts away as his gaze landed on her innocence, a pair of wicked looking gauntlets. He eyed the talons at the end of each finger warily after glancing up at the chains swinging in pieces from the post. Better not let those out of my sight, he sighed in his head.

Rhea turned sideways, keeping both the Noah and Daisya in her field of vision. She watched the Noah closely. Her eyes darted from his wounds to the way he carried himself and then his gaze locked on her gauntlets.

"Who's your friend?" Rhea jerked her head at the Noah as she addressed Daisya.

"He's not my friend." Daisya grumbled with a pout on his lips. "It's not nice to mock people."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes at him and ignored his second comment.

"Be careful though," her eyes snapped to him at his serious tone, "he's fast. Real fast and somehow he repelled Charity Bell when I kicked it at him. I didn't see him touch it." She nodded absorbing the provided information, storing it deep within her brain.

"If he'd touched Charity Bell it would've been damaged. Unlike akuma, the Noah possess the ability to destroy innocence just as the Earl can. We should be careful." Daisya looked at the hand in his face. Smiling he reached past the claws and accepted the offer, letting her pull him to his feet. "We need to incapacitate him, the question is how." She whispered, making sure she couldn't be heard by the Noah.

"It's almost daybreak." Daisya noted. Rhea nodded.

"If we're not back Kanda will have our heads." Daisya shuddered at the thought.

"Yeah, the last thing I wanna see is you two going at it. You never go down without a fight." She smirked at him.

"For now, let's focus on this battle. Did he affect anything else, or just Charity Bell?"

"Just Charity Bell. I haven't seen anything move." Daisya confirmed. "So how do we deal with him?" Rhea's eyes stayed locked on the Noah.

"If nothing else moved then he's probably not telekinetic which is good for us. Let's see if we can keep him at a distance." Her eyes moved down to where Daisya's foot rested on Charity Bell. "For now," she let her voice carry now as Harlequin slid out of her shadow and up her boots, "let's play some football!" Nodding Daisya kicked it at the Noah who swung out of the way, staggering back against the wall to avoid the sound wave that went with it. His head snapped up only for the bell to connect with his back with a louder ring than before. Whirling around he found her behind him. The bell came whizzing at him again. He dropped down through the ground and out of harm's way. Rhea whipped around as he appeared just behind her. Jumping over his leg sweeping at her feet she twisted through the air, and brought her leg down on him, her shin connecting with his head. The greave she wore glimmered in the low light of twilight as the bell bounced off it, resounding again, this time even louder. The Noah skid across the cobblestone as she bounced the bell between her legs, each hit causing it to ring louder and louder. She kicked it back to Daisya. It came soaring at him again. The glass spread across the street from before flew up into the air from the shock wave. The Noah barely ducked, hands protecting his ears from the sound waves assaulting him. Rhea appeared above him. He rolled out of the way as she brought her foot down. The glass rattled with the force. She swung again and he dodged only to get hit by Charity Bell. Rhea slid along the ground, ignoring the glass cutting through her pants and skin, kicking the innocence away from the Noah once more.

Tyki raised his foot and then brought it down on the girl who just barely rolled away. His foot swung out and caught her in the side sending her crashing into the wall yet he hadn't felt her ribs break though it had been an awkward angle. The bell came sailing towards him but he shifted, ready for it now. Holding out his hand he called upon his power, rejecting the air causing the bell to freeze in place. It spun wildly against his powers but the kick didn't have enough power. He smirked only for a greave covered boot to connect with the innocence releasing another sonic blast sending both of them hurling back, though the girl managed to hook her foot under the bell and toss it back to Daisya. He slid across the ground, glass cutting up his skin. The ringing reverberating against his skull, drowning out all other noise. He sat up to see Daisya pulling the girl to her feet. She brushed off the tiny shards of glass and shook her head. At least that damn bell is affecting her too, he grumbled. In his head, the memory howled in pain. He watched as she leaned over and started hissing in Daisya's ear. He started towards them, unwilling to let them concoct another plan.

Rhea's eyes shot up to the building she had originally hit the Noah through. A church. "Help me drive him towards the church." She dodged a punch from the Noah that separated them with the Noah now standing between the pair. Nodding he kicked the bell towards her and the Noah darted out of the way. They kicked it back and forth, with Daisya sliding further down the street each time. Lunging at the Noah who jerked to the side causing her fist to connect with the wall behind, sending a crack up the wall. She moved to pull away but he grabbed her by the neck and flung her into Daisya who kicked the bell and then attempted to catch her. They fell to the ground in a painful pile of limbs. "Almost there." She whispered to him. The Noah appeared above them, bringing his foot down to smash their heads in. Rhea caught it with her gauntlets and threw him off balance. He staggered back though he managed to send her into the wall again. Daisya kicked Charity Bell at him. The Noah held out his hand to stop it, his eyes widened when Daisya rushed forward and kicked the piece of innocence straight into his gut. He hit the wall again and Daisya sprung backwards taking his innocence with him, hurling it to Rhea. She kicked it only to miss the Noah. The bell flew high into the sky, hitting the bell tower of the church and then fell back to the ground. A smirk spread across the Noah's face as she flew at him. He ducked out of the way of the punch which struck the wall again.

"Missed." He told her and planted his foot in her stomach. She rolled across the ground.

"She smirked back at him, "Wasn't aiming for you." As if on command the bell from the church fell from the tower, landing on him. "Now!" Both innocences connected with the giant bell sending a boom of thunder through the streets, shattering the glass of half the city. The Noah reemerged several meters away hands clutching his hemorrhaging ears. Grinning she leapt into the air before smashing her fist into the ground. The shock wave threw the Noah off his feet. Charity Bell hit him in the stomach and then Rhea appeared in front of him again. Centering herself, and planted her right foot she swung her left fist for the finishing blow. The devastating punch connected with the middle of his chest, smashing ribs and throwing him over five meters back before he crashed into the cobblestone, shattering it as he landed.

The Noah gasped as he struggled to breathe, his heart beating irregularly paralyzing his lungs. Rolling onto his feet he backed away from the blurry images of the exorcists before turning and retreating through the wall to his right.

Rhea stepped towards the wall only for her foot to hit something. Looking down she found the Noah's top hat sitting innocently on the ground. With a grin she picked it up.

_"What are you going to do with that?" _The voice asked.

_"Keep it."_ She answered.

"Rey!" Daisya called from behind her, "Let's get going! We're gonna be late!" She turned back towards him, still clutching the hat in her fingers before placing it on her head.

She grinned wider over her shoulder for a moment, "Better luck next time, Mr. Noah." She tipped her hat to him.

* * *

"Well, look who I ran into," crowed Coincidence.

"Please," flirted Fate, "this was meant to be."

― Joseph Gordon-Levitt

* * *

**Well there you go! Rey and Tyki have now met as Exorcist and Noah! I think it went well! I really enjoyed this version! I felt that it was far better written and shows more of Rey and how her mind works rather than her muscling her way through problems. Please let me know what you think of it all! I'm excited to hear from you all! I promise I'm already working on the next chapter! Everybody stay safe and healthy! Cheshire's out~!**


	7. Faces of the Past

**Hello my darlings~! Aaah, I know I disappeared on you again. I swear I didn't mean to. Rey stopped cooperating with me and I got a bit busy, I finally got a different job. I'm finally making it into a bakery! Seven months of pain and hell and it's finally worth it. Anyway I'm gonna keep this short. You'll notice that Harlequin has replaced Kindred. Rey decided half way through writing this chapter that her innocence wasn't right but wouldn't tell me what was wrong with it! I swore I was gonna rip my hair out. Finally, after the day from hell (today) she answered my unending question so hopefully we'll be back to semi-regular updates. Also, I have one question for you guys, do you think the chapters are too long? Let me know what you think!  
**

**Dear Alexc1209, Oh yeah, now the real fun begins. Stand by for madness (mostly Tyki's ;D ) Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Wolfs Child, I do love the story so perhaps at some point it will get revamped. I will take it into consideration. Niko is Rey's younger brother and you'll learn about him and Viola more as the story goes on. For now, just look for clues. Enjoy!**

**Dear AkemiMimi, Hi! It's nice to meet you! I love meeting new fans! Aaaahh, you're making me blush with your compliments. I have to agree with you there. Tyki doesn't have a lot of decent stories which is a shame because he's such an interesting character. I love hearing that and I hope to hear from you in the future! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Bloodmoon25, So you think he's Wisely? Interesting. Well, your wait is over. They meet again in this chapter. From hear on out you'll have a steady supply of these two dorks running into each other. I'd love to hear what you think of this mysterious group, who knows, perhaps you'll guess it. As in VIG Allen and Rey are adopted siblings. She's got her own past, separate from his which we'll explore later. Until then, enjoy!**

**Dear WinterYule, Yay! I was going for creepy! I thought it would be more effective if we saw her earlier. Get to know her, or Rey's version of her anyway. Symbolism? Perhaps. Who knows. Rey tends to jump around and steal things. She likes to sketch things that interest her. Road and Rey will definitely meet again and Rey will find out that Road was the one who stabbed Allen and yeah, it's not gonna be pretty. Allen may have some Komui-like tendencies but he's only protecting his sister so it's okay! Yeah, Rey doesn't really care about vandalism, as you go on you'll see that she's a bit of a criminal. I believe Komui is a bit more worried about Rey's lack of attention to her own health and tends to throw herself into battle without thinking. Nah, she'll just throw something at his head for it. I LOVE Niko. He's absolutely a little shit but a lovable one. They are thick as thieves and at some point you'll see how they met. Whether Cross likes it or not, his children are going to do it anyway. He shoots at them for a reason. Rey reacted that way for a reason that will be explored later. She would. Rey would win hands down. She drinks coffee the way Cross smokes. That's actually something he complains about all the time. She loves to ruffle her brothers' hair all the time. It's getting harder as they grow taller than her but she'll figure it out. Probably flying leap. A lot of people are asking about the mysterious people but you'll have to wait like the rest of them. I agree it's a cool name and I actually really love it. I'm a nerd who collects names. Perhaps it does. You never know! Yep, little does Tyki know he's gonna fall in love with this lunatic who decided to drop a bell on his head. Daisya is reckless and they're worse together which is pretty bad for Komui's blood pressure and Reever's. And Allen's. And Tiedoll's. Mirrors, huh? Hmm, interesting. Yeah the minute I saw the quote I knew it was perfect for this chapter and their meeting. Enjoy!**

**Dear 15****th****, Yay! I love dances! I'm glad it made you happy, though it keeps taking forever. Blame Rey. She wasn't cooperating. It's nice to read from you as well, my dear 15****th****! Rey tends to sabotage herself so she doesn't really deserve sympathy. I love the reference and yeah she probably should. If it makes you feel better she does in the modern AU but then again so should all of the Noah. Tyki spends most of his time arguing with Joyd. Ahh, the mysterious society, yes they are interesting and you'll see more of them. So you think they're responsible for the voice? It's a interesting theory. Keep me updated with them as we go! I love to hear them! Yep! Their relationship is finally beginning but they don't have all the pieces yet since they don't recognized each other XD They're dorks but you gotta love 'em! Thank you so much! I wanted to redo that fight scene for so long. I cringed every time I looked at it. It was so bad before. I like this one much better! I feel like it showcases Rey a lot better and proves her to be a better opponent for Tyki. It made more sense for him to be interested in her. Not to mention that the two of them whooped his ass by combining their innocence's abilities showing off Rey's intelligence more. You know what they say, show not tell. Yes, Rey loves to take other people's things. Especially clothes so a pretty top hat is definitely going into her collection of things that are now hers. Alright, I will see what I can do with the sleeping death curse. I wonder who it should be. Suggestions? I am doing my best but I can't stay home. I now work in a bakery and it's considered an essential but I love bakeries so I don't mind! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"I wonder what you dream of, what ghosts of fading memory reach out to reclaim you?"

― Unknown

* * *

"Master," Rhea questioned, looking up at the man leaning forward on the stone wall smoking a cigarette, "what are we doing here?" He didn't look at her. "Why are we watching this clown?" Still he didn't look away from the clown preforming with a dog in the street below.

"Brat, go back to the hotel room." She glared at him, ignoring the tired sigh.

"No, we've been here for weeks! I'm bored! You haven't taught me anything new. How much longer are we going to stare at the same four walls? The only time we see anything else is this clown. I thought you didn't like clowns. Don't they remind you of the Millennium Earl?" Finally he turned his scarlet gaze to her. "Well that struck a nerve." She noted, with a sour expression.

"Brat, do as I say." Rhea contemplated the man that had taken her in for a moment.

"Huhnt!" She pulled herself up with her arms and vaulted over the wall in a single fluid motion. Landing on her feet in a crouch, she ignored the few children staring at her, having see her leap over the barrier, fall several meters, and then walk away as if nothing happened. Weaving through the crowd, she felt his eyes on her but ignored him, and stood at the foremost part of it, right in front of the clown. He smiled at her and she smiled back, showing too many teeth. As his show ended his dog ran up to her.

"Eh? Allen?" The clown called. Immediately a brilliant grin spread across her face.

"Puppy!" She cheered, bending down to pet the dog happily. Giggling when he licked her face. "Aww, you're just the sweetest doggy, aren't you? Aren't you?" She cooed at the dog.

"He likes you." The clown commented, towering over her, a warm smile spread across his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your performance." She apologized, rubbing her hand along her arm, though Allen kept licking hr face, as if trying to comfort her.

"There's no need to apologize, Little One. Allen likes to make new friends." Rhea smiled at him and continued to pet the dog. Something to her right caught her eye. A girl, several years older than her, with short spiky hair and striped stockings. Turning her head she focused on the girl. A small black cross became visible in her aura. Sighing, she patted the dog on the head once more before straightening up.

"Thank you for letting me play with your dog, but I have to get back. My father is looking for me." Waving one last time she ran back to where Cross stood, not having moved a centimeter since she left. "Master, who is she?" She didn't need to point the girl out.

"The Noah of dreams, Road." Rey's eyes widened.

"That's a Noah?"

"Yo, Cross Marian." The Noah now stood to his left. He moved, subtly hiding Rhea from her sight. Rey stood quietly as the pair talked, she didn't say a word but absorbed every word said. The clown WAS the Earl, she questioned to herself. He seemed so nice. And who the hell is Neah? Her thoughts swirled around through her Master's next words cut through them like a knife.

"Don't you think it's pitiful? Seeing him like this? He's breaking to pieces and it's your Noah's doing. Pretending you're family, for thousands of years, you've used him." Rhea tilted her head to the side.

"Used the Earl?" She asked quietly.

"Do you really despise "The Pillar" that much?"

A searing pain shot through Rhea's chest and she sat bolt up in bed.

_"Little One? Little One? Are you okay?" _The voice asked in concern. Rhea tore at her chest, scratching her skin with her long sharp nails. Thousands of needles stabbed into her heart in all different directions. She clawed harder, desperate to make it stop. _"Little One! Little One, stop! You're hurting yourself!" _Still she flailed and raked her nails over her skin. _"LITTLE ONE!" _He roared, his voice booming her head. She gasped, pulling her nails away from her chest as the pain subsided. She looked down at her hands, glaring at the dark blood that stained her fingers. Drops of blood and flecks of skin wedged under her nails. Her chest heaved and her shoulders shook as a dry sob freed itself from her lungs. _"Little One, calm down. Just calm down."_ The voice tried, unsuccessfully, to get her attention.

"Just focus on me, Brat." Her master's voice caused Rey's head to snap up. In front of her face Rhaps played a clip. Cross knelt before her, his single visible eye staring directly into hers. "Now, just breathe in," following his direction she sucked the much needed oxygen into her lungs, "and breathe out" She expelled it from her body at his command. "Again, breathe in," he took a deep breath with her, "and out. Again. In." Deep inhale, "Out." Long exhale. The clip played for almost two minutes and when it ended, Rhea's breathing returned to normal.

_"Are you okay, Little One? You didn't even respond to me." _ She nodded, still mostly focusing on her breathing.

"Yeah, I'm okay now." She turned her attention to her golem. "Thanks, Rhaps. I needed that. You saved my ass." She petted the golem gently. "It's been a long day, huh?" Closing her eyes, she rubbed them before reaching out and felt the presences of the others. In the other room, Daisya, Kanda, and Marie all slept peacefully.

_"It has been interesting." _ The voice agreed.

"Man, what a day." Rhea sat back allowing the events of the day to wash over her. Groaning she threw the covers off and slid out of her room and down the hall to the receptionist's desk.

"Is everything alright, Ma'am?" He asked her, brown eyes full of worry. She smiled softly.

"Oh, yeah, everything's fine. I was just wondering if I could use your phone. I need to make a call."

"Of course!" He handed her the phone and she pulled it over to a leather armchair and collapsed in it. Exhaustion rushed through her limbs. Her arms ached and the muscles burned. Damn it, she cursed internally, I've GOT to remember to keep it locked. I can't do that again, she groaned, rubbing her sore muscles as Rhaps picked up the cord. Slowly she dialed the number for Headquarters and waited to get through all the protocol.

"Hello?"

"Hey Reever." She greeted, kicking her bare feet up over the arm of the chair, uncaring that her sitting that way would be considered unladylike.

"Rhea, it's early, shouldn't you be asleep? Marie called earlier, said the four of you were alive and would check in with more details in the morning." She sighed at his words.

"Yeah but I can't sleep so I might as well tell you what I can. Get a head start on all this shit and all the fun stuff." She traced patterns into the bare skin of her legs, unaware of the rising blush of the clerk, watching her out the corner of his eyes. "Besides," she managed a tired smirk, "it is technically morning."

He snorted, "I'll get Komui for you." Reever rushed off as she tugged, her, Lenalee's, shorts down a bit, the chill in the lobby caused her skin to prickle slightly and she shivered, wishing for Allen or Niko to curl up with.

"Rhea!" She winced at the volume.

"Komui, don't shout. It's quiet here. The sudden change is NOT appreciated." He chuckled at her words.

"Whoops. My bad~!" He sang. Her eyes narrowed. He didn't sound sorry, not in the slightest.

"How are you possibly this happy?" She demanded, sharp nails digging into her flesh slightly, leaving long angry red marks on her thighs.

"I'm happy that you're alive! I was worried sick about you! You didn't check in like you said you would," his pointed tone cut straight through her and she winced, "and then Marie called and said that you were with him and that you four had survived the attack!" She sighed.

"I didn't call because I didn't have time. The attack on Barcelona was already well underway by the time I got there! I had to jump right in. Kanda, Marie, Daisya, and I were up all damn night fending them off." She explained, exhaustion lacing her voice. "And then, of course, it got worse." She rolled her eyes and waved her free hand.

"And how," Oh no, she knew that tone, "exactly did it get worse?" The calm tone, though just a facade, he spoke with gave her no way out of the conversation. Dread filled her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she answered him, "It got worse when Daisya ran into a Noah." SMASH! She winced as she heard his coffee cup hit the floor.

_"Hope that wasn't the pink bunny cup he loves so much." _The voice snickered in her head. She smacked then shoved him back into the corner.

"But Marie told me all four of you are alive." His voice quivered and she knew he expected the worst.

"Yes Komui," she deadpanned, "I'm calling from beyond the grave." She rolled her eyes.

"This is serious Rhea!" He scolded disapprovingly. She shrugged.

"We are. All four of us are alive and intact." She could see him arching his eyebrow at her in her mind.

"The Noah just let you leave?" Rey squirmed in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable, yet no matter how she moved, she still couldn't settle down. Gods above and below I don't wanna tell him this part, she groaned and the voice grinned at her some more.

"Not," she paused, sighing, "exactly."

"Do tell." When she didn't immediately answer he tried a different approach, "Rhea, tell me everything. Right now." The sharp order, biting in her ear.

"I don't know how it started. He and Daisya were already fighting when I got there. Daisya's golem was making weird noises and strange bits of conversation were coming through. If you want that part call Kanda or Marie, Daisya's golem is totally trashed by the way. He needs a new one. The thing hardly comes in which had been worrying me all night. I got a weird feeling and tried to call him but he didn't answer so I went looking for him. I couldn't just assume he was okay. So when I found Daisya hanging upside down from a lamp post needless to say I jumped in. Harlequin snatched Charity Bell before he could destroy it." She cut the story down as best as she could.

"He?" Komui cut in.

"Yeah, the Noah was a man." She listened as he ran around, grabbing things and knocking even more over.

"Okay, I'm recording so give me a clear description." Rhea sighed but nodded even though he couldn't see it.

"Tall, well built, mid 20's is what I would guess. Wore a suit and top hat. Without the Noah coloring he would've looked just like a regular noble. Obviously he had their dark skin, gold eyes, and the stigmata," She paused thinking back for more details.

"How did you know that's what those markings are called?" Her eyes widened and she waved her hand.

"Oh, I heard somebody say it at one point. Unfortunately, I can't remember who it was, but I heard somebody mention it. Don't be so suspicious, Komui. I mean, come on! It's just me." She laughed, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Right, sorry about that. How silly of me!" He sang back, but something in his voice told her she'd have to be more careful in choosing her words. "Anyway, anything else about him? Hairstyle? Texture? Thick? Thin? Distinguishing features?" He prodded.

"He kept his curly hair pushed back, it looked thick, the hat didn't hold it in place so maybe held back with a hair tie or just slicked back with something. Dunno what though," She shrugged, her free hand coming up to tangle in her own hair, loosely pulled back into a ponytail and tied at the base of her neck with a ribbon that might have been Kanda's at one point. Absentmindedly she tried to straighten out some of the curls with little luck. They immediately jumped back up into the haphazard forms. She let out an annoyed huff, blowing her bangs out of her face. "He had a nice face though, even I won't deny it, I liked the shape of his eyes," she hummed, twirling a long strand that had fallen over her shoulder around her finger, over and over. "They were intense, like staring into molten amber that would scorch you. He had nice lips too, full and kissable." She giggled, tracing her own lips at the thought.

"Rhea?" Komui called, trying to get her attention and bring her back to the present.

She snapped out of it, "But he's got a mole under his left eye that should help you find him." A smirk crossed her lips as an evil idea popped into her brain, "I wouldn't let him anywhere near Lenalee, she'd fall in love with that pretty face at first sight." As predicted, Komui immediately went into a tirade about his pure and sweet Lenalee. Rhea cackled. "I wouldn't be so sure." He didn't hear her.

_"Oh? Been naughty, Little One?" _The voice questioned, poking her back gently.

"Don't you know? I never kiss and tell." She waved him off.

_"Definitely naughty."_

"Well if you're gonna screech all day, then I'm gonna go."

"That's a pretty thorough description, I thought you just saved Daisya. How close did you get?" Komui asked, suspicion coloring his voice.

"Pretty close." She answered warily.

"How close is pretty close?" He almost growled at her.

"Well," she drew out the L as much as she could as she considered just hanging up on him.

"Well?" He demanded she continue.

"Okay," she shrugged, deciding to get it over with, "I punched him."

"You did what?!" He roared loud enough that she pulled the receiver away from her ear, though she still heard his chair smack against the floor. "I told you to be careful and stay away from them!"

"What was I supposed to do?" She shouted back, "He was going to kill Daisya! Neither of us died and Charity Bell and Harlequin are both still intact! I think I did fucking fantastic!" She heard him sigh, pick up his chair, and collapse in it.

"Can you tell me anything about his powers?" He asked, tiredly.

"Sorta?" She grimaced.

"Sorta? Rey, what does that mean?" She heaved another sigh.

_"You've been doing that a lot." _The voice commented. She pushed it away and started to answer Komui's endless questions.

* * *

Tyki opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. His hands flew to his ribs as the searing pain shot through them. In his chest his diaphragm began to expand and contract irregularly. His head pounded like a drum, the ringing in his ears did little to help and blood began to flow from them, his eardrums still burst. He opened his mouth and immediately regretted it. His jawbone and muscles burned, like they'd been doused in gasoline and then lit on fire. The muscles were still exposed, his skin having yet to regrow, the memory no doubt focusing on the more severe injuries though it still took a moment to grunt a few choice insults at him. Dragging himself from the bed to the bathroom he stopped, grabbing onto the wall as the room began to spin. When his vertigo stopped, he stripped and stepped into the shower. The warm water relaxing his aching body. His glared as the water ran red.

A knock sounded at the door followed by a voice, "Tyki? Tyki, are you awake?" Sheryl asked. He opened his mouth to answer but closed it instantly as pain shot through it once again. "Tyki?" Sheryl called through the door again. Rolling his eyes, he chucked one of the many bottles at the door. It crashed to the floor with a thud. "Okay, okay, I get that you don't want to talk, but please come down for breakfast before you leave. We haven't seen you all day. The Earl said you were leaving on a mission but one of the maids informed me that you came home early this morning." Tyki rolled his eyes as he brother prattled outside the door as he showered. He hissed and whimpered when the shampoo rolled down his face and into his open wound. Jolting back, he hit the wall and slid down, clutching his throbbing ribs. "Tyki? Tyki! Tyki! Tyki, answer me!" Sheryl started banging on the door.

"Damn it, Sheryl! Leave me alone!" He snapped through clenched teeth, his jaw protesting against the movement. He waited until Sheryl left after muttering something that Tyki didn't catch because of the ringing. Drying off, he stalked back to his bed and crawled in intent on sleeping his injuries off, or at least until it didn't hurt so damn much.

Rey opened her eyes again, rubbing fatigue from her eyes, as Rhaps bumped into her head several times, "Okay, okay, okay, I'm awake." Beneath her, Harlequin solidified completely. "I guess I should try and get some real sleep tonight, almost fell asleep out here." She groaned, looking around at the endless blue sea, though up ahead in the distance she could see Sardinia, Italy. "Remind me to call my brothers later." She told the golem as her innocence closed the final stretch and set her down on dry land. "Ahhh!" She fell over backwards, content to lay in the warm sand, allowing her skin to soak up the sun. "It's so nice to finally be on the ground again. As the sun began to set, she got up, brushed herself off, taking the time to crack her joints, and then head to the nearest hotel.

"How can I be of service to you, Ma'am?" Rhea smiled at the young man behind the young man behind the desk.

"May I have a room for the night, please?" Writing something down in his book he grabbed a key from beneath the desk.

"Room 201, is there anything else I can get for you?" He smiled pleasantly at her.

"Is there a phone I could use?" He nodded.

"There's one in the lounge that all our patrons are free to use. If you go down the hall on your left, it'll take you to the lounge. When you're done take the grand staircase and then a left down the first hall you see. That will bring you to the 200s corridor." She nodded her thanks and left for the lounge.

* * *

After a long and boring conversation with Komui, Checking in every morning and night sure is a pain. I mean after the first two calls you run out of things to say. Still alive, haven't found Master, haven't gotten arrested, haven't seen anything other than regular akuma, have a nice insert time of day, she thought to herself with a roll of her eyes, ignoring the voice's snicker and suggestion to just skip it.

Finally having finished the mundane part, she ordered with a grin, "Rhaps, connect with Tim and Argos." Rhaps didn't make a sound for a moment, then buzzed and then a second time.

"Rey," Allen's tired, hoarse, and slightly irritated voice came through the phone, clearly she'd woken him up, "why are you calling this early? Shouldn't you be asleep?" He asked.

"Clearly she wants to talk to us, you airhead." Niko joined the conversation and Rhea could practically see him rolling his eyes.

"Hey, if anyone's the airhead of our family it's you." Allen retorted with a snort. "I mean, how many times have we saved you from running into a tree, or a wall, or another person, or an unopened door?" Allen asked, his condescending tone evident.

"Or off a cliff?" Rey added in, a huge smirk spread across her features.

"That was one time!" Niko yelled indignantly. Both Rhea and Allen burst out laughing. "And I was reading!"

"Two times actually." She corrected in between giggles.

"Same cliff." Allen added.

Steam coming out of his ears Niko snapped, "If you two are gonna be like this then I'm leaving!"

"Oh come on, Niko. We all know you've missed us. We've all missed being together." Allen spoke, still snickering.

"For your information, our dear OLDER sister was graced with my wonderful presence just a few days ago. She so rudely tackled me to the floor while I was reading."

"Oi," Rhea interrupted, "why'd you emphasize older like that?"

Niko snorted, "Clearly as the eldest, you'll go gray and saggy first," his smirk could be heard in his voice, "all the while I will still be beautiful."

"You'd have to be beautiful in the first place for that to happen." Allen poked fun at his brother as Niko sputtered incoherently causing the other two to laugh once more.

"Gods above and below, why do I love you two cretins?!" Niko shouted loud enough to cause Rey to cover the phone.

"Not so loud, you nincompoop! Like Allen said earlier, it's well, early. People around us are trying to sleep." She chided.

"You're not my mother." He argued.

"Nope~!" She sang, "Just you beloved older sister, who puts up with your bratty nature and feeds the black hole you call a stomach."

"Hey, if anyone gets the title of black hole, it's Allen!"

"Eh, sad but true." Allen shrugged then continued, "But," he dragged the word out, "if you really think about it, I'm the lucky one. I get to eat more food than you which means I get to taste more and thus am really the blessed one and consequently I feel sorry for you."

"Well that's some backwards bullshit logic if I ever heard it." Niko chortled.

"Oh, right! Cause you and Rey are the pinnacle of logic!" He jabbed.

"Yep!" Niko declared, clearly very proud of himself.

"Like that time in Spain, right after we moved there?" Allen brought up one of the many events that transpired during their year long stay causing all to close their eyes and sink into the memory.

"Oi! Brats! Didn't I tell you to have these akuma corpses cleaned up by the time I got back?" Cross demanded, stalking up to the small cabin that he currently, much to his chagrin, occupied with his three apprentices. All three looked up from their card game to glance around at the steaming hulls around them in the yard.

"No comprende." Rhea blinked up at him as his eye twitched slightly at her comment.

"Brats..." Cross growled, leaving the unsaid threat hanging in the air.

"It left." Allen stated calmly.

"Yes," Cross smiled down at them, teeth clenched around his cigarette just a little too hard, "but since they," he waved his hand at the corpses, "didn't disintegrate it means it's not dead yet. I told you to kill the entire herd."

"But it's gone now. It might not come back." Niko pointed out.

"That doesn't change the fact that I wanted it dead." He starts tapping one foot on the ground.

"Then you do it." Rhea shrugged, tossing three cards to Allen. He set them down and turned to Niko, waving his fingers towards himself in a 'gimme' motion. Niko tossed all five cards to him with a sour expression.

"Brat." Cross snarled, fingers snapping his cigarette in two. Rey groaned and got up, brushing grass from her black pants. Her brothers followed her up to their Master.

"The stars are not in position for this tribute." She told him seriously. Slowly Cross looked up at the clear blue sky, shining sun, and the gentle breeze blowing through their hair. He saw no stars.

"Stars." Niko joined in from Rhea's left. "Can't do it." He popped up on her right, shaking his head. "Not today." He finished on her left again, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Brats!" Cross yanked Judgment from it's holster and fired.

"Man," Niko groaned, shaking the memory away, "that hurt like hell. I swear I can still feel those bullets even now." Subconsciously he rubbed where they had once hit trying to rid himself of the phantom pains.

"You were the lucky one," Allen argued, doing the same as his brother, "you weren't training so you didn't get shot as much."

"Nah," Rey cut in, "Master mostly just clonked him on the head with it instead of shooting him. I think he was hoping that one of them would turn his brain on."

"Yeah, that hurt too." Niko rubbed the top of his head as well. "Hey!" He protested when her second sentence registered.

"Hey, guys, give me a sec," Rhea told them, nodding at Rhaps to disconnect from the phone but not drop the call. Waving at the receptionist she went back to her room, padding through the hall silently on the balls of her feet she returned to her room.

Grabbing the blanket from her bed, she settled on the window sill, wrapped up in her blanket. Slowly she lent against the window, watching as people began to trickle out into the street. She narrowed her eyes at the meager number of people. Gradually her eyes blinked, taking longer to open them each time, until they stayed closed.

"Rey?" Niko called. She jumped, head whipping back and forth in search of danger.

"What? Yeah? I'm awake!"

"Rey, are you okay?" He asked, concern evident in his tone. Sighing she rubbed her left eye.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm just tired. Couldn't really sleep."

Niko hummed thoughtfully rifling through something, turning the pages of whatever book he'd grabbed before suggesting, "What about combining chamomile, passionflower, and nutmeg into a tea and try that? Or maybe mix them in with some cocoa? Dunno which would taste better." He shrugged.

"It might help, but I don't..." She trailed off.

_"What is it, Little One?" _The voice asked.

_"I haven't told them about what happened in Barcelona. I don't know if I should. Allen needs to focus on finding Master and more importantly his own health and there's nothing Niko can do to help. I don't want to nor will I drag him into this war. It's bad enough I can't get Allen out as it is." _She told it, quietly, even in the confines of her own head, her voice hardly above a whisper.

But..." Her brother asked together, looking for an answer.

"But maybe it's not a good idea to try something new when I'm in the field alone." Her tone turned cheerful, "What if I slept all day? Komui would have a fit." She giggled. "He'd lose his mind if I didn't call to check in." She breezed through it, laughing quietly at her own jokes.

"Can you nap a little before you head out again?" Niko questioned.

Rhea huffed, "If I could fall asleep." She took her nail file out of her bag and began to fix a chipped nail from the fight with the Noah. Idly she wondered how he fared after their battle. Her legs and body still showed the signs of it and would for a while. Bruises and cuts littered her body. Nothing serious, she noted thankfully. A sharp movement causes her to wince as she jostled her bruised ribs.

"What about a song?" Allen asked. Both Rey and Niko perked up immediately.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't serious. I don't mind sharing it with you two." Rhea smiled and put away the nail file.

Settling down in her makeshift cocoon of blankets, Rhea spoke, "Whenever you're ready." With years of practiced ease the song flowed and all three relaxed. Slowly they fell asleep. Allen finished the song and then yawned.

"Good night, sleep well." The golems ended the call as all three slept peacefully as if they were all together again despite being far apart.

* * *

As she finished dressing, Rey bent backwards, only straightening up once several loud pops pierced the silence of the room. Slowly she rotated her arms until her elbows made the same sound, then she tilted her neck from side to side, emitting the loudest of snaps and finally she laced her fingers together and cracked them. Rhaps nudged her mistress as she looked out the window once more. Again her eyes narrowed as she observed the streets. Mostly quiet, only a few people could be seen on the road, many of the shops had their doors closed with nobody straying too close to the windows. She arched an eyebrow and left her room.

"I'm just saying it's weird, Komui!" She argued, trying to keep from sighing.

"We have no reports from that area. It's probably just the off season or something. Unless you've seen an akuma, which you just said you haven't, there's no reason for you to stay. I know you don't really want to see General Cross but you can't make things up to avoid catching up to your brother and searching for him." He scolded her.

"I'm not making it up!" She snarled, cracking the handle of the phone beneath her grip, "I don't like leaving Allen alone out there! Trust me, I hate it but I'm telling you something is wrong with this town or island or whatever it's called." Her teeth clenching and her left eyebrow twitching slightly as she resisted the urge to slam the phone and hang up on the infuriating man. "Look, just let me look around for a few hours and I promise that I'll leave immediately if I don't find anything."

"He's not alone, Rhea."

"What?" She questioned.

"Allen, he's not alone." He clarified. "He's with Lavi, Bookman, the new exorcist Krory, and my dear sweet Lenalee~!" He sang happily as he brought up his sister causing her to roll her eyes. His tone grew serious once more as he said, "Please remember that it's not just you and Allen against the world anymore. You've been with the Order long enough to know that we're a family and we take care of our own. Lenalee would never let anything happen to Allen, and neither would the others. You don't need to worry about him being alone." Rey sighed at his words, I wish that were true, she thought to herself, almost mournfully. Surprisingly the voice didn't say a word.

Still she lied, "I know, I know. I'll still feel better when I'm with him."

"Then why do you insist on staying there any longer than you have to?" Komui asked, exasperated.

"Because something's telling me that things aren't right here! I can't tell you what it is. It's like this buzzing in the back of my head. It won't let me leave. There's something here, for me, telling me to stay! Just a few hours, please Komui?" She heard him sigh over the line and knew that she'd won.

"I suppose a few hours couldn't hurt. Just to be sure. Swear it to me, Rhea. Just a few hours."

"I swear I'll only stay just a few hours." She grinned and hung up before he could get another word in.

Alone in his office Komui looked at the phone, still making the disconnected sound, and blinked several times, then sighed, "What am I going to do with her?"

* * *

Wandering around town with a scowl on her face she turned to her golem, "I just can't place it but I swore something felt off!" Her scowl turned into a pout, her bottom lip stuck out. "Man, am I really wrong? Gods, if I am, Niko will NEVER let me live it down." The golem bobbed sympathetically. She sighed running her fingers through her bangs, "Maybe I'm finally losing it." Her scowl returned as the wind blew through her and she pulled her coat tighter.

_"It could just be," _The voice intercepted her train of thought, _"that you're traveling on your own and your instincts are in overdrive to make sure you survive. It's not unheard of. After all you just barely fought off that Noah." _It reasoned before the thoughts could run away with her. Without looking, far too preoccupied by her thoughts, she strode down the road until she crashed into something hard and warm. Scrunching up her face, she whined lowly and then stepped back, looking up. A man in his early 30s also took a step back.

"My apologies, Miss." He brushed his wild brown hair out of his face. "The wind blinded me with my own hair for a moment."

"It's not your fault. I wasn't looking where I was going. It's not a good habit." She answered then shrugged, "But I still do it. My brothers are always telling me not to." She laughed a bit, brushing a loose piece of hair behind her ears.

"I clearly wasn't looking that much either. I didn't see you, let me make it up to you." She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? And how would you do that?" A grin spread across his face.

"Why with a cup of coffee and perhaps a light snack of something sweet?" Rhea paused, the thought of a hot cup of coffee after several hours of nothing suspicious sounded heavenly. He hasn't attacked me yet so he's probably not an akuma, she thought hopefully.

"Sure," she smiled softly, her eyes darting away from his and then coming back. "Coffee sounds delightful. Especially a hot one." She almost drooled at the thought, "Oh! How rude of me, I've yet to introduce myself." She offered her hand, "I'm Rhea." He took her offered hand, bent at the waist and kissed her knuckles lightly.

"It's truly a pleasure to be graced with your presence, Miss Rhea, my name is Rhakshos."

"It's nice to-" The words died on her lips, as the wind blew through his bangs revealing two red spots resting on his forehead. She jolted back but he kept his firm grip on her hand. Slowly he raised his head, green eyes boring into hers.

"Is there a problem, Miss Rhea?" He purred.

"Let go." She hissed through clenched teeth, her eyes glued to his forehead.

"Oh, you know what that means. Well," He straightened up, pulling her closer, "I must say that this is a pleasant surprise."

"Let go." She said again, pulling back until her wrist hurt. A few people stopped to stare at them.

"Are you really sure you want to make a scene?" He questioned, innocently. "My offer of a cup of coffee and a nice civil conversation still stands." She reached for Harlequin.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Magic glittering at his fingertips. She glowered at him.

"I won't say it again, let go." He grinned at her.

"Make me." She seethed as he challenged her, red slowly clouding her vision.

_"Well, if he insists." _The voice suggested, a manic grin spread across his face. Magic flowed through her veins, flickering to life.

Rhakshos' eyes widened, his jaw going slack though he managed to stammer, "What? You can do that?" Her eyes darkened.

"You have no **_idea_ **what I'm capable of." Her voice melded with a deeper one as purple lightning shot out from her hand. Rhakshos flew back, crashing into the closest building, sending spiderweb cracks all through it. He staggered to his feet, glaring as his own magic appeared, spell tags floating around him.

"How are you alive? We killed ALL of them!" In her mind the voice took form for the first time but she barely noticed.

_"Finish him." _He whispered in her ear. She nodded as Rhakshos lunged, spell tags whipping towards her. Darting forward she ducked under the attack and closed the distance. Purple magic crackled between her fingers as they connected with his chest and rushed through him. He crashed through the wall and into the building. Rhakshos didn't move. Taking a deep shaky breath, Rhea forced the magic back, deep down. Pushing it as far down as she could. Her hands began to tremble and her eyes returned to normal.

"I shouldn't have done that." Whether she spoke to herself or the voice in her head, who dissipated, she didn't know.

"Witchcraft!" Jumping away, her head snapped up to see an older man pointing at her. "I saw it!"

"No you didn't. You're mistaken." He took an unsteady step towards her. His hands held out slightly as if he were about to grab her.

"Stay away from me." She ordered taking a step, still he drew closer.

"I haven't seen one of you in decades. I was just a little boy." He took another step towards her. "They assured us they were all dead."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She started to walk away.

"An Au-" He didn't get any farther, magic jolted through him, shocking him and throwing him across the road before he could finish his sentence. Turning on her heel, Rey bolted.

* * *

Running down the side streets and dark alleys Rey only slowed when she could no longer sense the man's presence. Looking around she found the street to be sparsely populated. Fluttering by her head, Rhaps began to play an audio clip. An old song but one that she loved quite a bit. As she moved down the street, her footsteps fell in time with the beat before the rest of her body followed. Humming along with the song she found herself wandering down a completely deserted street, shrugging it off, she let the music soothe her soul. Every time the man's presence got close she simply turned another corner and lost him. She arched an eyebrow when she realized that the voice hadn't said a word since the incident but shook it away. She smiled softly, the music floating on the breeze with the sun warming her skin as she danced.

RING! Rhea jumped, her head whipping around in search of the loud sudden noise. Her eyes snapped into focus on the payphone attached to the building on her right. RING! It rang again. She looked around, not seeing anybody, she closed her eyes and felt for a presence but found none. RING! She jumped again.

She scowled at it for a moment, then frowned, and asked, "What? How can you be ringing? What's that about? Ringing? What am I supposed to do with a ringing phone?" RING! Glancing around one last time, she shrugged and picked it up.

"Hello?" She asked, unsure of what she would get.

"Tyki-pon?" Her eyes grew wide as she recognized the voice of the Millennium Earl. "You sound kind of funny, are you still in pain?" With a yelp of shock, Rey threw the phone back onto the receiver.

"That was the Millennium Earl!" She said to Rhaps who bobbed up and down, agreeing with her. "I just hung up on the Earl!" She started to laugh at the complete lunacy of it all. "Why did he call a payphone?" She questioned to the golem. RING! Rhea turned back to the phone, ringing once more. Again she picked it up.

"We must have gotten cut off-" Slam! Small pieces splintered from the receiver.

"What the hell is he doing?" Rhea looked around, taking time to look in windows and doors. "There's nobody on the street. Nobody's even watching from a house or anything, so why call here?" RING! "I shouldn't do this," She let an impish grin spread across her face, "bu~t I'm gonna do it anyway!"

"Tyki, this isn't fun-" Rey hung up.

"I think it's hilarious!" She grinned wider at her golem and then waited. "Wonder how many times I can do this?" RING!

"Tyki-" This time she cut him off.

"Frank and Lynn's Zoo: Snake Department, Jeffery speaking! How may I help you?" She chirped, filling her voice with as much as Lenalee normally had.

After several long moments of silence he finally spoke, "Uhhhhhh, I think," he let out a nervous chuckle like she had never heard before, "I think I may have dialed the wrong number." The Earl didn't sound too sure of himself.

"That's no problem! I'm always happy to help in any way that I can," she cringed at the way she sounded, struggling not to giggle, "Have a fantastic day!" She did her best to sound like Komui when he'd made another Sir Komlin. The line went dead and she set it back on the receiver. "Well, I guess that finally scared him off." She started walking away from the phone as she contemplated out loud, "I wonder why he was calling anyway?" She turned to Rhaps. "Do you think it's something I should be worried about?" The golem bobbed up and down until- RING! "Guess not!" She shrugged and answered the phone. "Frank and Lynn's-" SLAM! Pulling the receiver away from her ear, Rey stared at the phone for a moment then turned to the golem, "He hung up on me! Well, that's new." She watched the phone for a few moments before RING! "You gotta wonder if he's double checking the number each time or not. I sure hope he is."

"Tyki?" The Earl asked, hope lacing his voice. She turned to Rhaps and mouthed a few orders. The golem pulled up an audio clip and played it into the phone.

"I am Prince Na-" A shriek, rather high pitched for a man, sounded before the dial tone played again. Rey began laughing and kept laughing. She let go of the phone to clutch her sides and stagger back against the wall before sliding down it as tears started to prick at her eyes.

"Oh gods! Rhaps, I can't breathe!" She gasped in between fits of laughter. RING! She scrambled to her feet, hurrying to answer it.

"Hello...?" A young girl's voice carried through the phone. Rey's eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open, as the memories flashed. First from many years ago and then from Paris. "There's nobody on the other side." Road told the Earl.

Tentatively he spoke, "Hello? Is someone there? Hello?" She snapped back to the present and quickly responded to his question.

"No."

"Then," he stopped and started once more, "who am I talking to?"

"Earl?" Road questioned, stealing Rhea's attention again. Still she responded.

"Who me? I'm just a figment of your imagination!" She swung her head around drawing out the last word.

"You lied!" He shouted at Road as he hung up. Rhaps floated over and nudged Rey when she didn't move.

"I can't believe I didn't recognize her. How did I not recognize her? She hasn't changed. In so many years and she hasn't changed. I don't even know how that's possible. Rhaps, remind me to ask Master more about the Noah." She thought for a moment, "You know, when we find him." She sighed. Footsteps drew her attention and she hung up the phone. Rushing away she saw the man from before run by. Instinctively she shrunk back. As she stepped back onto the road she heard a new voice.

"This way, Master Noah." The hissing voice beckoned, sending Rhea scrambling around the side of the building again.

"Harlequin, up!" The harsh whisper scratching her already dry throat but she ignored it. Flattening herself against the roof she crawled to the edge, peaking over just slightly. RING!

"Hello?" A deep baritone answered the phone.

"Rhaps, record!" The golem fluttered closer until Rey pulled it back by the tail, "Don't be seen." The golem nodded and flew closer, hovering over the edge by the top hat the Noah wore on his head. She grinned as the Noah sounded distressed though she couldn't make out his words.

_"Your doing, is it not?" _The voice chimed in for the first time. She merely shot a smug smirk at him as the conversation over the phone ended, the Noah hung up, and walked away. She only saw the glint of the light from the silver buckle on the ribbon of the hat before the Noah vanished around the corner of the street.

"Rhaps, replay, skip the yelling. I'll listen to it later." She stood up, stretching, backwards, then side to side, before finally cracking her neck. Each movement gave a lovely sound causing her to sigh in content.

"I know that you have your list of people that I wanted you to delete," Rhea arched an eyebrow at that.

"Delete? The hell does that mean?" She questioned to herself. Sighing again, she added it to her ever growing list of questions that she had for her master about the Noah, and motioned for Rhaps to continue the recording.

"But, the akuma have located a piece of innocence. I need you to pick it up and destroy it before the Order hears about it. So far there's been no sightings of those pests, so please get it before they show up! Then continue on your journey! Be safe!" She snickered as the Earl stopped talking.

"Understood, My Lord." The recording cut out.

"Ha! I told Komui there was something going on!" Rey cheered bouncing on her toes until Rhaps smacked into her head. "Oh yeah, kinda have to save it from the Noah first, before I can shove it into Komui's face. Whoops. Forgot about that part."

Cackling at herself, she took off after them. Giggles left her lips as she ran across the rooftops, bounding from one to another, loose tiles crumbling from beneath her boots. Her heart thundered in her chest, pumping blood and giddiness through her veins. Millions of thoughts rushed through her head as she slunk up on the group of akuma gathered in a clump she ordered, "Harlequin, activate!" The liquid slid from her skin, down her left arm, forming a long glossy whip, barbed with thorns. She inhaled deeply as the familiar weight settled in her head. Snapping the whip out, it sliced through three akuma like butter and wrapped around a fourth one, barbs digging into it's metal flesh. With a smile she yanked it causing the akuma to explode. Flicking Harlequin out, Rey swings over, avoiding the poisonous fumes from the akuma. Her feet touched the roof as the level one erupted.

Running with silent steps, her eyes focused on the Noah's receding form. With a loud screech a hideous baby like akuma appeared in her way. Harlequin melted from the whip and deflected it with a simple flick of fingers. Ahead of her the Noah crushed the casing of the innocence, revealing the glowing green cube. Shrugging her shoulders, she called her innocence back to her. It wrapped around her arms and legs in armor, right before she punched the akuma in the face. It shrieked as it flew through the air, crashing into the Noah. The innocence tumbled from his hands and bounced down the road. Grinning she yanked the akuma back.

"What the hell?" The Noah whirled around but found nothing. He stood alone in the empty street. The houses around him stood silently, only a few broken roofing tiles lay on the ground. "Useless creatures." He groaned with a roll of his eyes.

"Oops!" She yelped as it smashed into her and they both hit the wall. She groaned as the tiles dug into her side. Beneath her feet, the akuma struggled against the innocence encircling it. Vainly it tried to yell for the Noah or to warn him through the innocence wrapped around it's head. Rey merely looked at it in boredom before she clenched her fist and the akuma's head popped off. Grabbing the roof, she flung herself up to the top. Spying the hat that lay on the ground, a huge grin spread across her face. Excitement rushed through her as the whip snapped out once more. Flying forward it knocked the innocence into the air as it wrapped around the hat. Getting yanked back, the innocence fell neatly into the hat.

"What on Earth?" The Noah demanded, his eyes following the hat.

"Nothing up my sleeves." Rey grinned, making a show of tugging on her sleeves before she caught the hat. Bowing, she allowed him to see the innocence in the hat before straightening up and setting it down on her head. "And now the magic word: Abracradabra!" She grinned at him as she spoke, "And," pulling the hat from her head, she allowed the piece to roll down her neck into the safety of her hood before bowing once more so he could see the empty hat. "Ta da!" She stood, waving her hands, giddily. Finally Rhea took a moment to examine the Noah. Metallic green met gold.

"Ah! You!" The shared moment of realization echoed in the streets rather anticlimactically. Rey immediately burst out giggling. She clapped her hands and struggled to get oxygen into her aching lungs between fits of laughter.

"How did you get here so fast?" He demanded. She smiled causing him to scowl.

"Ah, well that's a secret. Sorry." She shrugged, pressing her index finger to her lips.

"No you're not." He accused.

"Got me there!" She grinned and his scowl deepened. She laughed even harder. "I was right about one thing, though." Rey trailed off, letting it hang in the air.

"Oh? And what is that?" He questioned arching an eyebrow at her.

"You sure do clean up nicely, Specs." His eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly slack jawed.

"You-you you recognize me?" The Noah tripped over his own words, as he tried to come to terms with this new knowledge.

"Come now, Specs, do you honestly think getting rid of your glasses, changing your clothes and coloring means I wouldn't recognize your face? It's still the same. Just a different color!" She giggled, walking along the edge of the roof. She paused, a pout pulling at her lips. "Hmmm, guess I can't call ya Specs anymore." She sighed then shrugged, "I'll have to come up with something else I suppose." She tapped her bottom lip as she contemplated a good name for him.

"So the herbalist was just a lie?" She turned to him, cocking her head.

"What?"

"The herbalist stuff. It was all just a lie. How did you know I was a Noah and why didn't you attack me, you could've taken me by surprise."

"Oh that." She waved him off, as a song began to play in her head. She started moving to the beat, humming along to it though the words hung on the outer edge of her memory. Just out of reach.

"Don't you "oh that" me!" He snapped and she jumped, eyes growing large.

"Hey! There's no need to yell!" She yelled back. "You don't have a reason to yell. The herbalist stuff isn't a lie. I really do have that knowledge." She shot him a side smirk. "Eeeze will be fine." She winked and he took a step back, mouth falling open again. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone the big bad Noah cares for a sick little kid and his human friends." His mouth snapped shut.

"You have got to be the weirdest exorcist I've ever met." He sighed, shaking his head.

"Oh? I'm the weird one! The Earl just keeps calling and calling! Like it would magically change!" The Noah's eyes narrowed at her words and he shifted his weight, "What kind of a system is that?!" She demanded, throwing her hands up into the air so violently she almost threw herself off balance and off the roof.

"It was you!" He lunged for her. Shrieking, she fell from the roof. Rhea threw herself onto the next roof, cutting her palm on the sharp uneven edge of the roofing tiles she grabbed. Staggering several steps as she turned to face him.

"That was rude!" She chided.

"So was hanging up on the Millennium Earl! Several times!"

"Duh." She retorted. "Honestly, I just made that up as I went along and he kept calling. Each time he sounded so hopeful."

"I got yelled at for almost 20 minutes because of that. Even longer when I tried to tell him that it wasn't me." He leaped to her roof and she grinned but didn't back up.

"I know, I was right above you the whole time." He stalked towards her.

"Aren't you going to run away?" He questioned.

"Nope!" She popped the p with ease. "Tell me, do those three know about this side of your life?" She asked, tilted her head to the side.

"Why would I tell you?" He grabbed at her but she danced out of his way, twirling round and round on her toes to the other side of the roof.

"Oh come now, we're friends aren't we?" She asked, knowing smirk spread clear across her lips.

"No." He scowled. Her smile dropped and her eyes lost their sparkle till she looked like he'd kicked her puppy.

"What?" She asked, sorrowfully, "But I helped you." She stuck her bottom lip out at him. "I didn't even charge you for it. Just as I promised." He attacked her again. She dropped backwards out of his reach, landing on her hands. He lets her feet phase through him, she frowned at the feeling.

"You stole my wallet! Which I want back!" She laughed at his demands and springs away onto the next roof causing him to frown at her.

Shrugging as she straightened up, "I don't have it. Sold it." She locked her hands together behind her back and leaned towards him. "Why? Did it have something important in it?"

"Yeah, my money." They jumped from roof to roof, with him always just a few steps behind her.

"No it didn't. Trust me that was the first thing I took out of it." Taking a moment to examine her nails, making sure they were all even and the paint hadn't chipped, she pulled out her file, fixing one of them.

"Are you even paying attention?!" He snapped, seeing her fiddle with her nails.

"No," she glanced up, meeting his eyes for a second, "not really." She shrugged, leaning back against the wall of a taller building.

The Noah groaned and threw up his hands, "You're completely mad."

"We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." She responded with ease.

"I'm not mad." He argued.

"You must be," she said, "or you wouldn't have come here."

The Noah dragged his hand down his face as he asked, "Lewis Carroll?"

"Know it?"

"I do. Obviously, as I just identified it but why are you quoting Alice in Wonderland at me?"

Rey opened her mouth to answer when another voice cut her off, "Come out, Witch!" Her head snapped in the direction in which the voice sounded and pulled a groan from her lips. The Noah took his opportunity and pinned her to the wall. She yelped in surprise and thrashed in his grip.

"There, that's much better. I guess you should've been paying more attention." She raised her head to meet his gaze as she stilled, much to his surprise.

"Did you ever consider that perhaps I want you here? Maybe you're playing into my hands right now?" He cocked an eyebrow at her question.

"Why on Earth would you want to be pinned between me and the wall?" A massive grin spread across her face for a moment though he still leaned slightly away on instinct. As quick as the grin appeared, a softer look replaced it.

"You're an attractive male specimen," she fluttered her eyes at him, for effect as she purred, "maybe I wanna explore you." Rhea pressed against him, feeling his grip loosen as his jaw hung slack and his eyes blinked widely at her. The grin returned, "Activate!" Her innocence slid down her left arm, creating a gauntlet. She punched him in the face, freeing herself and sending him staggering back. Not wasting a moment, she turned on her heel and bolted, laughing as she went. Her cackling only grew worse as he thundered after her, cursing as he went.

Jumping down from the roof, Tyki looked around, ignoring the throbbing in his cheekbone and the sniggering of the memory in the back of his head. He didn't see the exorcist. The memory continued to mock him til he shouted at it, "Oh will you shut up!"

"Are you talking to yourself?" The exorcist asked, causing his head to snap around. He finally located her. She walked over to the edge of the roof right before him and sat down. She cocked her head to the side with her question as she crossed her left leg over her right.

"That's none of your business." He snapped.

"Eh?" She whined, lips pulling down into a frown. "Why not?" He stared at her for a moment, her mischievous eyes meeting his without even a hint of fear.

"Shouldn't you be trying to kill me? We're enemies after all." He pointed out.

Her frown turned into a pout with her bottom lip jutting out as she fussed, "But you're all the way over there." Making a show of flailing her arm in his general direction halfheartedly as if it would prove that his distance warranted her laziness.

"The effort you put into your job is absolutely astounding." Sarcasm dripped from his words as he glared at her. She ignored it with a sunny smile.

"I know!" She threw her hand back over her face, as if she were wiping sweat from her brow. "It's exhausting!" He sprang at her once more. He grit his teeth as she rolled back onto her hands and vaulted away. She landed on her feet a few meters away.

"Still quick on your feet." He noted sourly, standing where she had just been sitting.

"That was scary!" She mocked, covering her mouth with her hand. She did nothing to hide the coy look in her eyes.

A chuckle broke through his lips at her cheek, "I doubt that."

"You could've hurt me doing that." She continued to play her innocent game. He rolled his eyes though the smile still tugged at his lips.

"That was kinda the point." He offered.

"How cruel," she whimpered, "and here I thought we were friends." Her bottom lip quivered and he resisted the urge to apologize. Instead he busied himself digging another cigarette, purposefully dropping his gaze from her face. Before he put the box away he held it out to her but she merely shook her head, "No thanks. I don't smoke."

Rhea huffed silently as he looked away. The puppy dog pout didn't have any effect on her opponent. Her heart still beat wildly in her chest, the adrenaline coursing through her. Her fingers twitched at her side, itching for more.

"So now what?" The Noah asked casually, still smoking. A smile tugged at her lips as the image of her master momentarily overlaid the Noah.

"We go separate ways and promise to keep in touch?" She suggested, the smile twisting into a smirk. He looked up at her, raising his eyebrow, for a moment before returning the gesture.

"Sure," now she arched her eyebrow in response as he kept talking, "if you hand over the innocence along with your own piece I'll let you walk away. You saved Eeeze's life so I'll spare yours." Before he realized what happened, her fist connected with his face. He flew across the street, destroying several buildings as he crashed through them. Rey stomped his cigarette out as she stalked towards him, teeth grinding together.

"You no-good, cocky, arrogant, self-important, son of a bitch!" She roared, ignoring the twinging pain shooting through her left arm. "Spare me," she spat as if the words were poison, "how dare you imply that I need your mercy! Ha! What a pitiful joke! You haven't even laid a finger on me. Gods above and below, get your damn head checked." Rhaps fluttered around her head, before bumping into it softly but she ignored it. Her innocence slid from her arms, slithering across the ground and yanked him out, via an iron grip on his left leg. With a flick of her fingers the innocence began to thrash around, slamming him into every nearby surface. When she grew bored she waved her hand and it flung him away before it glided back. It climbed her body and returned to it's place. "Deactivate." Rhea jumped down to the road and started back towards her hotel, still muttering under her breath.

Tyki staggered out of the wreckage, wincing as the movement. The shock of her suddenly hitting him has caused him to forget about his abilities. Pain shot through his chest and he couldn't feel the cracks in his ribs. "Where the hell did that rage come from? Jeez, I thought she was just a giggly airhead." He groaned at the pain as the memory howled in the back of his head. "Shut up! That isn't helping." His eyes immediately flicked to her retreating form and he contemplated leaving her be then his wounded pride reared it's head and he started after her.

A purple light exploded centimeters to her left. Rey shrieked and dove out of the way, rolling across the ground. She whirled around to find the Noah again. He stalked towards her, eyebrows furrowed with a sneer on his face. She straightened up, cocking one hip out with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Back for more?" She snorted at him.

"And you say I'm cocky. At least I have the power to back it up." He snarled at her.

"Right, and who's bleeding?" His eyes widened in surprise and slowly he reached up to touch his forehead where the blood seeped down, just above his stigmata. He pulled his hand away to stare and the blood and his ruined gloves. Then the blood dripped down into his eye. He wiped it away.

He sighed, "Alright, fine. I admit that's impressive." He smirked at her, "None of your comrades have been able to do that and you've done it twice now. Perhaps you'll be more interesting than I first thought."

"Oh, thank you, Your Majesty. I shall treasure your compliment for the rest of my meager insignificant existence." She responded sardonically as she bowed. He chuckled again.

"Well you seem to have a sense of humor. Try to keep it after this." Rhea screamed as the area around her exploded. The air swirled around and around until she fell to her knees, the vacuum stealing the oxygen from her lungs.

Struggling for breath she managed, "Harlequin! Dome!" Her innocence zoomed over to her, creating a black shield between her and the void encompassing her. Gasping as she gulped much needed oxygen into her burning lungs. "Damn it! What the hell is his power? He walked through walls the last time and now he can create a vacuum?!" She looked at her innocence tightly packed into a solid wall. "Guess I don't have a choice. Come." A piece broke off and for a moment it thinned enough to see that the abyss still surrounded her. The piece crawled up her arm, transforming into a single gauntlet on her left arm. Jerking her arm to the left, she heard the piece click. "Expand!" She waved her arms out, sending the ever-growing shield out, until the vacuum blew apart. The force of the wind sent the Noah skidding back, his arms protecting his face.

He dropped his arms revealing his expression; wide eyed and mouth hanging open he demanded, "How did you do that?!" Her innocence whirled around her like a typhoon, her green eyes deadly serious. Then a crack appeared, spreading like a spider web before she burst. To his complete and utter shock the exorcist erupted into a fit of laughter.

"Oh my gods! You should see your expression!" She covered her face as she threw her head back, her manic cackling growing louder and louder by the minute. The Noah scowled at her as she grasped at her aching sides, trying, and failing, to stop her giggling. Her lungs burned once again for oxygen this time for a different reason this time.

"Are you done yet?" He asked sourly. She wiped a tear away from her eye though she almost started again when she saw the pout on his lips. No doubt he'd deny it, she thought to herself with a cheeky smile.

"Aw come on, don't be like that. It was funny." She tilted her head at him with a grin. The Noah shook his head at her.

"I've never seen anyone switch moods so quickly." She just shrugged at him, a rather nonchalant answer causing him to roll his eyes.

A heavy piece of wood clonked Rhea in the head. Slowly she turned to the man holding the giant wooden cross against her head, blinking as she spoke, "Begone, evil enchantress! Your wicked vows have no power here. Go back to your unholy master and leave these good people in peace!" She blinked a couple more times.

"Are ya done yet?" Behind her she could hear the Noah growing closer. He took a step back, before tightening his grip on the cross.

"I said begone witch!" He raised the cross from her head and started to bring it back down.

"Hit me with that ONE more time and I'll shove that thing so far up your ass you'll be picking splinters out of your tongue." She snarled. The Noah stood right behind her. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again. I am not hurting your town. Nor am I here on the demands of my "unholy master" well," she sighed thinking about the words again causing her to rub the back of her neck sheepishly, "not the one you're thinking of." The Noah's breath moved the small hairs on the back of her neck, his fingers just brushing her skin, hand having slid through her jacket. Her left eye started twitching. Stealing the huge cross she brought it back over her shoulder, Harlequin painting it black in seconds. "Here! Have some God!" She smashed the innocence covered cross into the Noah's head. He staggered back away from her, clutching his head. Whirling around she planted her feet and swung the cross at him. It connected with the Noah's ribs and sent him flying. Tossing it away she turned on the other man once more. "Scram." She ordered, a slightly maniacal grin appeared on her face, "Or else." Not wasting a moment the man ran for his life. She took off, running at full speed towards the hotel.

* * *

Weaving around people, darting through alleys, and jumping fences with ease, she arrived at the hotel. Excitement rushed through her. She barely waved at the clerk before she shot over to the telephone. She bounced on her toes as she waited, impatiently, to get through to Komui.

"Komui here!"

"Hey Komui! It's me!" She chirped. "I'm checking in for the night, don't be mad but I also got myself into some trouble," he tried to cut in but she kept babbling at full speed, "also thought I should let you know that I ran into that Noah guy again," This time Komui's shriek did break through.

"He followed you?!" He jumped to his feet, his chair slamming against the floor. She could hear him crashing around his office like a bull in a China shop, obviously looking for something.

"Komui, Komui, Komui, Komui!" She called, bouncing in time with his name. "Calm down, it was a chance encounter. He was just as surprised to see me as I was him! Honestly his reaction to seeing me was the funniest thing I've seen recently and that includes Lenalee finding out about you stalking her shopping trip." Nothing passed over the line for a moment, no doubt his bottom lip stuck out in a pout at her for mentioning the latest Sir Komlin incident. "Anyway this wasn't meant to be a long conversation, I just wanted to tell you that the Noah seems to be heading East which might be worrisome, our finders suck and we need better ones there was a piece of innocence here that nobody even knew about hell I wouldn't have known about it if the akuma that were here aroused my suspicions also I TOLD YOU SO thus I stuck around to watch for a bit and then the Noah showed up and the innocence was mentioned and I followed him to it then stole it out from under him. We fought for it but I emerged victorious!" She cheered, hopping up and down in celebration. "He makes funny faces though, usually when he's shocked and it makes him even cuter," she waved her hands around as she chattered, almost dropping the phone multiple times from it's place cradled between her ear and shoulder, "but it was so much fun to play with him even if he can't be rude and pompous and jerky and condescending but I showed him because I punched him in the face again and eventually he's gonna learn his lesson," she shrugged, "anyway I gotta go I have another phone call to make but I wanted to tell you that the Earl is communicating with his Noah via payphone I have no idea how or why but maybe you and the science department can figure it out and maybe even interfere with it; wouldn't that be funny as hell? Oh well, I gotta go! Bye!" She ended the call enthusiastically.

Back in his office Komui just stared at the phone, blinking slowly. The dial tone continued to play in the empty room. Gradually her final sentence made it's way through his brain. His eyes grew large and he started shouting.

"Rhea? Rhea? Rhea! Rhea! Don't just hang up after saying something like that! How the hell did you learn that? What does it even mean! Rhea! Rhea~!" He sobbed into the phone even though the girl was long gone.

"Rhaps," Rhea turned to her golem, "connect to Argos!" Still giddy, she couldn't wait to tell her brother.

"Rey, what's up? Did you find Master?" Niko asked as he answered the call.

"What?" She questioned while her mind tried to slow down enough to process the question. "No, of course not. That would be too easy. You know what Master can be like he's the devil or maybe he IS the devil and there's no way that he would make it easy to find him in fact since it's us looking for him he might even make it harder because he's such a major dick but you knew that you were right there with us though I actually think you might have been his favorite just because you were the easiest to deal with!" She snickered.

He sighed, "Rey, please tell me you're staying wherever you are for the night?"

"Eh?" She whined, cocking her head to the side. "Why?"

"I'd rather you not go wandering off when you're like this. You don't know when you're gonna crash. Please don't forget to eat something for dinner. Even if it's something small. You need the calories. Promise me you will." He pleaded. In the background a ribbit sounded, as if his pet were agreeing with it's owner.

"Okay, okay, I promise I'll remember to have dinner. I'll eat when I'm hungry." She waved him off, having finally started holding the phone in one of her hands.

"No, Rey." He told her sternly. "Eat at a normal time. You know you don't always get hungry. Eat at what someone else would consider dinner time. Like six. No later then seven."

She huffed, "Fine," he chortled as she drew out the word in a whine. He rolled his eyes, ignoring the smile that tugged at his lips.

"Now, what's up? I'm sure you didn't call just to babble about NOT finding Master." Remembering the reason her face split into a wide, almost unnatural, grin.

"Oh! I found the-" The line went dead. Her grin dropped and she frowned. "Niko? Niko? Niko, are you there? Nikolai? Niko! Answer me!" Her mind raced as her breathing grew shallow.

**BOOM!**

Rey shrieked as the wall in front of her exploded. Then her world went dark.

* * *

Circling

Round and round

Over the battlefield

They descent

Ready to feast

* * *

**Oh no! What happened! Which side cut off first? Are they okay? Who knows! I can't wait to hear from you all and see what you think! I promise it's not the same. As we move away from the strictly canon part you'll find that I'm switching things up! Keeping a few that I particularly love but things will be changing, hopefully you'll agree with me that it's for the better! Cheshire's out~!**


	8. Caught in the Web

**Welcome back my Darlings! Apparently writing the chapters the way I am doing it now is always going to take a while. However I feel like this is a good way to do things. I feel like I have more time to focus on it, catch mistakes and make up my mind about how the writing goes. I don't have much to say this time around. Work is normal. I think I'm finally settling into a routine. Though sometime after getting the first draft done, Yule introduced me to a show and I finished it in two days even with work. Then I found out the next season won't be out until sometime next year. I am hooked and now I have to wait. My brain decided that it needed to know more and I fell into the fandom hard. A new character popped up and she shoved Rey from the light. Eventually Rey managed to steal the light back so you guys can totally blame Yule for this chapter taking so long. Just remember that. Yule not Cheshire's fault. *grins* You'll find I fixed a few things if some of the previous chapters. Just a few minor mistakes. Hopefully it goes better. Now, onto my favorite part! The reviews!**

**Dear Alexc1209, Yes, Rey has no sense of self preservation and irritating the Earl seemed like fun. As it was she almost made him cry. He's probably questioning his sanity a lot sooner than he should be but Rey has that effect on people. She's a brat. Are you really surprised that she stole Tyki's wallet? He left it where she could get it. Silly boy. It's hard to be Tyki. Niko is an interesting case. He did grow up with Rey and Allen. They're siblings and thick as thieves. They really love each other. Enjoy!**

**Dear QUEENVitch, Aaaah! Hi! I love new reviewers! I love to hear your thoughts and feelings about the chapters and the characters! I'm so excited to meet you and I hope to get to know you more. I apologized about how long it takes for a chapter to be written, edited, rewritten, edited again and then published but I feel that the content it better. I hope you'll bare with me. I'm so glad to hear that you were grinning like a loon. I love to make my readers smile! Thank you for answering my question! Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Destiny's Gem, AAAAAHHHH! I MISSED YOU! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH! I'm so happy you came back. I've missed your thoughtful comments and often right guesses. Sometimes I swear you can read my mind. I was so sad when you left. Yes, Rey is having none of Tyki, or anyone else's shit. She's more of a brat than Luca. Yes, Rey's magic will play a bigger part in this story. I do love it as well. I always wanted her to be a bit different. Her magic is one of those things that sets her apart. Yes, I do love a good mystery especially about a character. You have to share all your theories with me, via pm or review. I wanna hear what you think is going to happen. You and everybody else, absolutely loves Joyd. Even I do. He's fun. Not for Tyki but for the rest of us. You're making me blush bright red with all your praise. I agree that I've grown since I started writing VIG and I'm hoping to improve even more with SoG. I still have quite a bit to learn but the more you practice the better you get so here's hoping! I hope I live up to your expectations. If you have any criticism let me know. I'm happy to hear and improve when told. One of Rey's hobbies will always be tormenting Tyki, he just makes it too easy for her. I do agree that he's reactions are great. I am doing my best to show them more. Never apologize for long reviews. They make my week. I love them all. I can't wait to hear from you again. Please enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear WinterYule, So FF tricked you into writing me two reviews! I am the clear winner here! I'm excited and I'll try to answer all of your questions in both of them but if I miss something I apologize. I tried. Yeah mini-Rey is kinda like Road. The two do share some similarities to each other. How they are and who they pester when they are bored is one of those things. Unfortunately for him, Tyki is on both lists. XD He can't escape. They will find him and he will entertain them whether he wants to or not. Cross is probably gonna shoot Rey though. He does it a lot. Anyway you are correct, Rey was Cross' first child, then Allen and finally Niko joined their little ragtag family. Thank you so much, I was going for creepy but I wasn't really sure if it worked or not. If you have time could you tell me what worked and what didn't? I'm really trying to improve on that part. Thanks! The Noah hitman definitely needs a break and or a vacation but since I'm not getting one neither is he! Sucks to be Tyki! Haha ha haha *Komui evil laugh* So you're suspicions of the voice. How interesting. Yes, Rey is called Little One by past!Mana. She knows a bit about the Noah because of the time that she was with Cross was a bit hectic. He wanted her to know something. And she's endlessly curious so she pestered him about everything too. So you think the memory might've been distorted by the dream? Hmm, well you'll just have to wait and see. Cross was the one who recorded the video and it's just for her. He's aware that Rey is prone to panic attacks so he tries to help. Yes Rey definitely steals Komui, and anybody else who's not smart enough to hide it, 's coffee. If it's unguarded it's fair game to her. Yes she's gonna take several years off Komui's life with her bullshit and bad habit of emulating her Master. Yes she is very aware of how pretty Tyki is. She is, kinda, genuine is warning him that Lenalee will fall in love with him if she sees him. She's aware that Lenalee likes pretty faces. Allen should definitely be worried and he will when he finds out but for now Tyki's her dirty little secret. Niko loves his siblings and he knows it. It wouldn't be them if they didn't tease him and he teases right back. But yes Cross is screwed, hardly able to deal with one and then he ended up with three for his trouble. Several people have concerns. The CROW was looking for something and yes Rey's eyes light up when she uses her magic. Can't wait to hear what you think of that. Good luck! Yes the famous payphone scene. It's still one of her favorites. As you can see she stepped it up this time. She got Rhaps to help and yes she totally made him cry with it. They definitely set the tone for their relationship with this fight and him trying to deal with her. She is totally keeping his hats because she loves them and he can't manage to hang onto them either. It's hard to be Tyki. She was very proud of the hat trick. Very proud. He does have a headache and she's not making it any better. He is the Earl's precious Tyki-pon! He's so thrown by her weirdness that he doesn't even know what to do. He's gonna have to start thinking if he wants to stop losing to her. XD Poor boy. He is very taken aback. He doesn't understand how she can go from battle to sex so quickly. He's never had an exorcist flirt with him. I do love her wording there though. She's not hanging up on Komui like that on purpose it's more like it didn't occur to her because she's hyper and wants to talk to Niko more XD She loves her little brother so much. Yes that's where I left it. You'll find out what happened below. Enjoy!**

**Dear 15****th****, Good evening my lovely 15****th****, I missed you dearly. As always your timing is completely impeccable. I swear you are psychic with when you review. I always love hearing from you. I'm sorry it takes me so long to write these chapters and that you have to wait so long but I really want them to be the best that they can! I hope you understand! I love the telephone scene too much not to put it in. Rey is getting madder and madder. She's the mad hatter! She's even got the hat for it! I wonder if a little of the mad hatter when into the Earl. Hmmm, what do you think? You will see Rey crash soon. You can't always be high. Tyki was far too irritated with her to tease her. He'll do it later when he's pride isn't so injured. XD She really hurt it. He will definitely bring it up later. One of those moments that he used it as a distraction to try and kill her but he'll mock her later. I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

"If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself."

― George Orwell

* * *

BANG!

The door flew open, slamming against the wall with a resounding crash. Viola flew through them.

"It's awake!" The blond shouted at her.

"I noticed." She grinned. The group gathered around the bubbling cauldron. Auryn leaning on his shillelagh, as he watched the glimmering lilac liquid bubble.

"It's strong. The source is dipping deep into it's roots." He hummed.

"Should we be worried?" An older man asked, brushing his brown bangs away from his eyes. "We still don't even have an image of it."

"What did you mean by "dipping deep into it's roots" Auryn? What does that mean?" The blond asked. The old man smiled down at him kindly.

"It means that the magic used was natural and unbridled. The source has been hidden for hundreds of generations. I was but a young man the last time it reared it's head."

"It only appears once in a blue moon." The other man snarled, glaring at the blond for ignoring him.

The blond turned to him, lips pulling into a sneer, "I didn't fucking ask you, Markku. Stay out of it!"

"Boys." Viola warned, not willing to deal with another fight.

"Sorry." They grumbled together. The doors flew open again.

"I feel it! Are you tracking it? Tell me you're tracking it!" The woman shrieked as she stopped to stare down into the cauldron. "Where's the picture?" She asked, turning her gaze to the blond.

"There isn't one. Obviously." He rolled his eyes at her.

"Why the hell not?" She demanded.

"Because there isn't! Jeez, what part of that is hard to understand?" Viola sighed as the two began to fight.

"Well I guess this just proves that you're nothing but a two-bit magician after all. Probably got a rabbit up your sleeve." The woman snapped.

"First off, it's a rabbit in the HAT. Secondly, I've got more power in my pinkie finger than you've got in your entire waste of space body." The blond argued.

"This is not productive." Auryn advised, the pair paused turning their gaze to him. "You each are a part of the troupe for different reasons. You bring eclectic talents to the table." They were silent for a moment.

"I'm still better." The blond mumbled under his breath.

"Excuse me?!" She shrieked at him. Auryn sighed and dropped his head while Viola rubbed her temples.

"HEY!" Markku shouted, ending the argument. "The cauldron stopped bubbling!" All heads snapped to the cauldron. As he had said the lilac liquid now stood still as if it had never been boiling in the first place.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The blond cried, grabbing the edge of it, searching for even the smallest bubble. "Damn it!" He cursed loudly, running his fingers though his yellow hair, noting the growing hints of green in it.

"What happened?" They shouted at him.

"It appears the source shut itself off again." Auryn stated calmly.

"Tracking spells don't work if it's not active." Viola sighed. "However we know that the spell works." She turned her attention to the blond. "Can this stay? Will it began to boil again when the magic returns or do you need to add or change something?" He sighed, running his hand down his face.

"I don't know. It's new. I'll have to go back and look at it. I altered the recipe to fit our needs. I took notes when I did it. I'll have to consult them. It probably should," then he shrugged, "if not, I'll just make a new batch that will. It should be simple enough. I'll get on it." With that, he turned on his heel and left.

"We don't have it yet," Viola sighed, "but we will soon."

"Viola," Auryn called. She turned; seeing the look in his old steely eyes she nodded.

"Leave us." She ordered the other two.

"I'm going to go make sure that imbecile doesn't mess things up." Markku grumbled.

"Markku, leave him be. Let him try before you attempt to take over. He made the first one just fine. This is his specialty after all." She didn't even turn to address him. He frowned petulantly but left without another word. The woman followed after him.

"I do not wish to alarm the others but I need not remind you that if we lose the source again, it will be over. We will be finished. It disappears so often that it can be almost impossible to find. I swore those fools had killed it off the last time. I was thoroughly surprised when it resurfaced almost two decages ago. The guardian has been hiding it meticulously. We mustn't let this opportunity slip by." He warned her, leaning heavily on his shillelagh.

"Do you think the guardian is dead?" Viola asked with a contemplative look on her elegant face, brunette eyebrows drawing together.

"I do not know. I believe we should find the source before we need to know. It is unguarded at the moment. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth." He explained causing her to nod.

"I will press the time issue. Perhaps Riaan can find something to give us a bit more information on it." She hummed, tapping her cheek thoughtfully.

"A wise idea indeed. We have many resources. Now would be the time to use them." Viola smiled at Auryn.

"That you for your wise council. As always it is irreplaceable."

"No, thank you, Viola. It was you who brought us all together. It's your vision and I have known you long enough to know that you will not stop until we have the source." Viola smiled at him with all her teeth.

* * *

"Fuck!" Niko ran, his feet thundering against the cobblestone. Behind him four level one akuma floated after him. "Gotta lose them! Damn it, why are they chasing me?" He asked Argos who flew beside him. "Seriously," He sobbed, "I'm the only one without innocence! So why me? I swear this is Rey's fault." He paused, throwing himself around a corner and into a dark alley. Pressing himself against the wall, hoping silently that the akuma would pass by him. "Somehow." He added. He wiped the sweat from his forehead when the akuma disappeared. "Well, that was excitin." He groaned.

"Hee hee heehee! There you are, you little pest!" Niko's head snapped up to find a grotesque humanoid level two staring down at him from the roof of the building he leaned against. "Now come out from your little hidey hole." It sang, it's monstrous size too big to fit in the marrow passage way. Instead it lay on it's side, flailing one arm with long jagged claws scraping at the wall above his head trying to reach him. Something yellowish green dripped from the talons.

"Move!" Rey's voice sounded in his head. Throwing himself to the side on her command, he rolled across the cobblestone, scraping up his hands and arms as he skidded to a stop. The substance hit the ground which immediately made a hissing sound as it ate away at the ground.

"Acid. Fucking fantastic." The arm swung wildly, trying to get him; acid flying all over the alleyway. "Hey! Watch it with that!" He shouted diving out of the way again. "Ouch." He groaned. He'd be hurting later. Shoving himself to his feet he ran for the mouth of the alley.

"Not so fast!" Another level two appeared in front of him.

Niko fell as he slid to a stop, "Shit!" He backed up, dodging more acid as the second akuma, a demented wolverine, or that's what he thought it looked like, akuma prowled closer.

"Hey! He's mine!" The first one shouted.

"Yeah well, you're too big to get him, so now he's mind. Better luck next time, friend." It grinned, revealing yellow razor sharp teeth large enough to tear his head clean off. Niko gulped, as his head swiveled around.

"Gotta find a way out, gotta find a way out, gotta find a way out." He chanted. His eyes fell on the sewer cover. "That'll work." Kicking the dirt at his feet up into a cloud. The akuma began shrieking unable to see him or each other. Prying the lid up he dropped down, landing ungracefully. "Well that smarts." He whined, getting up. "I'm so over all this running. I hate it." He started walking; Argos flying by his head. "Shit, I better call Rey. That bullet almost hit me. Destroyed the phone." Argos rang and rang but Rey didn't pick up. Niko stared up at Argos, brows furrowing. "Try again." He ordered, trekking through the sewer. "Call Allen. Maybe he knows where she is or if she's okay."

* * *

Half an hour later and neither of his siblings picked up. Niko stalked down the road, having climbed out of the sewer moments earlier. He grumbled under his breath, running his fingers through his messy hair hissing when they caught on knots.

"You need to brush your hair more often. I don't care that you don't like it! Otherwise it's gonna be one giant knot." Rey chided, pulling a brush through it. A loud snap filled the room. "Aaaand you broke the brush." She groaned. "I hope I can get this out. Seriously Nikola, take better care of your hair. If you don't I'm gonna have to cut these knots out. It'll make for a very interesting haircut." She threatened teasingly. "Go shower, you stink. I'll whip something together for the knots. Go! Get!" Rey shooed him away.

"Damn it, those two better be okay. I hate being kept out of the loop." Niko complained, pulling out of the memory just in time to walk into a wall. "Ouch!" He yelped, rubbing his newly bruised nose. He turned to his golem, "Don't you dare send that to either of them. I get enough shit as it is." He grumbled.

"There you are!" Whirling around he found the wolverine akuma from before, running down the street straight at him.

"Aw shit!" Turning on his heel he ran for his life. "I'm tired of this! Why are they chasing me anyway?!" He demanded though Argos didn't answer him. The other akuma appeared.

"Come here little boy! It'll be fun~!" The akuma cheered, swiping it's claws at him. He crashed to the ground, narrowly avoiding the acid needle like bullets. Together they chased him down a dead end. He backed up till his back hit the wall.

"Man, I would kill for Rey to be here. She'd get us over the wall in a blink of an eye. Then again," He paused, "these fucking things would already be dead if Rey was here." He sighed, missing his sister dearly, not that he would ever tell her that.

"Time to die~!" The akuma chorused together.

Finding no way out Niko sighed and dropped his head, "I guess I have no choice. Argo, unlock," The bronze golem split open revealing a large mouth full of sharp teeth. A magic glyph appeared glowing brightly. "Harlequin, fire!" The glyph turned green and fired two blazing bullets. They flew through the air, whistling as they went.

"Your little darts won't hurt us!" The wolverine akuma boasted but Niko just smiled as they both exploded. Pulling his shirt up over his nose he bolted to his nearest hideout.

"Damn it! I can't believe I had to use two more bullets. Shit, Argos, how many do I have left?" He sighed again as his golem showed him. Damn it. Rey, Allen, you better find Master soon. Or at least come home soon." He slumped into his pile of pillows, exhaustion over taking him until he fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Tyki waltzed into the wreckage of the hotel grinning as he sang, "Come out, come out wherever you are~! Come on Little Butterfly, time to play again." Met with silence he tried again, "Aw, don't tell me you're dead. That would be such a pity, but I suppose butterflies tend to die like the insects they are." He hummed thoughtfully. He phased through the rubble, searching for the exorcist, or her corpse, he didn't really care either way, in the debris. She had at least two pieces on her. Possibly more. I'll have to search for her body when I find her. Jeez where is she? He questioned in his head, still ignoring the memory.

"Now, now, there's no need to be like that. I'm right here." She stood on the banister of the second floor, right in front of him, "If you really wanted to see me again you could've just asked for my number." She smiled coyly at him. "Of course my family would insist on you courting me properly. She teased.

"In your dreams." He snapped back.

She laughed, "I'm pretty sure we established it was in your dreams." She winked, bending down to dust herself off. She tutted upon examining her coat and it's damage, "You really don't know how to play nicely, you've ruined my coat. These are expensive," she paused glancing away for a second, "mine especially." She brushed her pants off.

"Why yours especially?" He questioned, taking a few steps towards her, but she didn't move from her spot, still fussing with her clothes.

"Didn't you know? Each exorcist's uniform is designed specially for the exorcist and their unique fighting style. Some do different things. Style is just one thing. Dai and I fight differently so our coats look different. Preference is also a factor." Tyki paused. Thinking about her words and the previous exorcists he'd fought.

"That's true. Your friend's was more of cloak than a coat," his eyes traveled over her form again, eyeing her coat, "while yours is more form fitting." Another thought occurred to him. "Day?" He asked, arching an eyebrow at her.

"Daisya, I dunno," she shrugged, "he's from Turkey."

"And you're from where?" She smiled at him, walking back and forth on the banister.

"Oh you know, here and there." He glared at her.

"Wow that tells me so much. Though I suppose that makes you a mix."

She snorted at him, "Well not all of us can be pure Portuguese." A pout pulled at her lips while his eyes widened.

"How'd you know?"

"Your accent."

"Nobody's been able to tell in years." He said rather dumbly.

"I lived in Spain for a while and crossed the border more than a few times. I got used to it. Not that big of a deal. I think it's cute." She winked at him. He shook his head.

"Regardless, I will admit you continue to impress me." You survived quite an explosion. I wasn't holding back that time." He examined her wounds. Her knees were raw and red, blood seeped through her coat's left shoulder, the elbow jutting out unnaturally, her fingers black and blue, and a rather nasty cut across her left eyebrow with blood dripping down her face. Her hair messy and falling out of their loose braids, she did look like something exploded. "You're hardly injured." He commented.

"I could say the same thing to you, My Love." She argued, twisting her elbow and popping it back into place. "Not many people get up and walk away after I slam them into a bunch of buildings." He interrupted her.

"You make a habit of that?" He snorted, unbelieving of the exorcist's claim.

"Only the people who irritate me." She shrugged. "Still, I definitely rebroke your ribs, though whether they'd headed or not from last time I can't say. Either way it's hampering your breathing, your left leg is severely damaged, broken at best, at worst I tore the muscles, because you're limping and even now you're putting all your weight on your right leg. Most likely have a concussion from the amount of times I've hit you in the head and I'm almost certain the ringing in your ears has returned."

He sighed, "You're far better at this than I originally thought." He stopped, replaying her words. "My Love?" He questioned arching an eyebrow at her choice of nickname.

"Butterfly?" She shot back.

"What? It makes sense. Butterflies are beautiful but fragile." He looked away from her as he defended his choice. She giggled.

"So does mine, you just don't get it! Though you've proven to be a bit of a dunce~!" She sang, smacking her hand against her temple.

"Oi!" He snapped causing her to laugh more. A strangled cry from the lobby halted the conversation causing Butterfly to bold. Running along the banister she jumped to a piece of rubble before hitting the floor, never stopping. Cursing, Tyki took off after her. Feet thundering against the floor he quickly closed the distance between them.

Taking a deep breath, Rhea pushed her body faster, pulling ahead with little effort. The blinding fear coursing through the receptionist clouded her Ki as she got closer the bloodlust of the akuma began to filter in too. Flying into the lobby she found a single level one, cornering the clerk who cowered behind his desk.

"Harlequin, invoke!" The akuma spun towards her as her innocence activated, drawing it's hate towards her. Seeing her coat, the akuma fired every gun at her. Diving out of the way she rolled across the floor. Whether it did anything to the Noah she didn't know but highly doubted it would injure him. She whirled around to the clerk, "Get out!" She waved him towards the door. He ran out into the chaos of the street caused by the explosion. Leaping out of the way of another barrage of bullets she whipped Harlequin out, slicing through the akuma in a single sweep.

"That hurt, Butterfly." His arm snaking around her shoulders locking around her neck as he growled in her ear. Seeing no other option, Rey sank her teeth into the flesh of his arm. "Ow!" He released her, sending her rolling away. "Did you just bite me?!" He demanded looking down at the teeth marks in his arm. She stood, smacking her lips together a couple times with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hmmmm, tangy." He blinked a couple times as she licked his blood from her lips.

Examining the injury his eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "How did you burn me too?"

"Eh?" She cocked her head to the side like a puppy. "Burn you?" He twisted his arm so she could see the red scorch mark though superficial in nature. She contemplated it for a moment before brightening up.

"Oh!" She smiled, popping the first two buttons of her jacket, she pulled it open revealing the green necklace glowing angrily against her bare skin.

"You have two?!" He growled still clutching his injured arm.

"Nope!" She popped the p with a smile, "I picked it up on another mission. I just haven't had time to hand it over." His eyes flicked from the necklace, to the deep blue strapless top she wore to the scar on her right shoulder just barely peeking out from the edge of her jacket. "I guess it doesn't like you." She shrugged, causing the jacket to slip a little farther down her shoulders.

"I don't particularly like it either." He sneered, straightening up.

Smiling she cooed, "What's wrong, My Love? Not having fun?" She rocked on her feet, bouncing on her toes as the adrenaline flooded her veins.

"I'd be lying if I said yes but you what they say, all good things must come to an end." She tilted her head, eyes sharpening as he spread his arms out wide. Feeling something prick at her neck, her eyes darted down to see the hair on her arm standing on end. Immediately her eyes widened as hundreds of butterflies flew from within his body.

"Butterflies?" She asked, still she jumped back.

"And yet still you run." He taunts, causing her to arch an eyebrow. She watches, her eyes tracking their every move, as they circle round and round before dive bombing her. Shrieking, she falls back onto her hands before vaulting away.

"They bite!" She accused with a pout. The pout turned into a smile. "I have to give it to you, carnivorous butterflies are a new one." She rolled to avoid the swarm's second attack, Harlequin sliding up her left arm. "Buuuuu~t, it's not good enough!" She sang, leaping into the air, swinging her arm at the legion of butterflies. Thousands of feathers flew through the air, shooting them down. "Shadowed Frenzy!" The Noah ducked and rolled out of the way as she landed in a crouch once more. "I don't like being bitten by insects." She said, eyes darting around for the Noah in the dust cloud.

He purred in her ear, "Would you prefer I bite you?" Whirling around, his foot connected with her side sending her crashing into the wall. She fell from it, prodding her ribs gently. Wincing as they moved when she touched them, she forced a grin to her lips.

"Buy me dinner and then we'll talk." Smirking he seemed to consider her offer.

"Perhaps." He shrugged, "Could be fun."

"Oooooh, now I'm all tingly. You've gotten my hopes up." Grinning, she clenched her fist, fingers dyed black, drawing all the feathers around them back to her. The Noah cried out as several speared through him on their way back to her.

"The hell was that?!" He demanded, clutching a particularly nasty wound in his side.

"Shadowed Frenzy." Rhea explained easily. "I'm amazed you dodged as many as you did." The feathers consolidated into gauntlets and she slid into her stance. "Ready to dance, Love?"

"But of course." His smirk matched hers as another butterfly appeared and grew into a large star shaped shield. He met her left hook with the shield. Sparks flew and lightning cracked between them as they pushed against one another. "I must say, I'm impressed Butterfly. Not a single one of your comrades have been able to stand against me, yet here you are, grinning like that damn cat, not even giving a millimeter." He braced the shield with his other hand, digging his feet into the ground he shoved harder. She growled as her boots began to slide against her will. "Aaah," He sighed, "there it is."

"Damn you." She hissed, sweat starting to drip down her skin. Flicking her fingers downwards, her innocence followed, sliding over her boots into familiar armor. Letting up on the pressure she allowed the Noah to gain ground. As he staggered forward she leapt up over the shield.

"Shit!" He cursed, raising his shield only for it to halt, unmoving no matter how hard he yanked. His eyes quickly found the tendrils of her innocence wrapped around it, anchoring to the floor. They came alive and wrenched it away. "Aahh!" Her foot connected with his face, sending him careening away. Landing on the first foot, she swung around, the thick heel on her boot catching him across his cheekbone, leaving a long shallow slice. With the tendrils connecting to her fingers she swung the shield back around and into him. It shattered upon impact and sent him flying into the wall.

"So dark matter has an effect on you as well. Good to know." She hummed, more to herself than him, thoughtfully as she watched the dust cloud spread, eyes darting back and forth, searching.

"My, my, my, I seem to be underestimating you," his voice came from behind her, causing Rey to whirl around. A hand grabbed her by the back of her coat, revealing him in the smoke.

"Son of a bitch!" She cursed.

"That's two hits to my face in just one move, never mind my entire person." He flung her into the wall, leaving a huge dent in the wall. She cried out as her ribs hit the unyielding object. He rushed after her, quickly pinning her to the wall, his are against her throat. "Now that was a beautiful sound." He cooed, taking the time to move a stray lock from her eyes before flashing a massive grin, "Make it again." He threw her into the ceiling.

Falling, Rhea latched the claws of her gauntlets into it, the chandelier shaking as she hung for a moment, chest heaving, her entire body riddled with pain. Swinging her body back and forth she managed to plant her boots against the ceiling. "Spikes." Shifting her feet a few times her hands let go, leaving her hanging. The chandelier rattled again.

"Well, I guess that was too much for her." He sighed when she didn't fall back down. "A pity-"

"Worried about little old me?" She cut off his sigh. "Aw, My Love, you're making me blush. I mean that much to you?" His head snapped up to find her watching him from her place on the ceiling, twin braids hanging down.

"Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" He chuckled.

"You're avoiding the question~" She sang, arching an eyebrow at him.

He heaved another sigh, "I will admit that you've endeared yourself. I've never met an exorcist like you. You've been the most fun I've had on this side of my life for a while." He looked up at her. "I don't like that smile, though."

"I'll take it," her grin grew causing the cat to appear in his mind again, "for now. But I'm gonna keep at you. You're gonna love me." He snorted.

"If you keep it up, your head's going to swell to the point where you stay up there on the ceiling." He pointed out.

"And yet you don't argue my original point." She comments.

He glared up at her, "Are you going to come down and fight or not?"

"Do you want to get your ass kicked again?" He snarled at her remark.

"That was a draw at best!"

"You ran away!"

"It was a tactical retreat!" He shot back.

She rolled her eyes at him, "Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." The spikes released and she fell. He bolted to the side, narrowly avoiding the back heel drop that would've shattered his skull.

"You keep saying you're playing but that could've killed a normal person." He tutted from the top of the crater. She straightened up, head tilting back to meet his eyes.

"Fine," she shrugged and immediately, he hated it, "I'll hold back."

"Don't you dare." He snapped, lunging for her. She threw herself to the left, rolling away, and out of his range. He followed her as she ran from the crater. "Oi! Don't run away."

"Why? You do it!"

"You are just itching for a fight." He chased after her. She whirled around, stretching the gauntlets from her arms into a long whip.

"Isn't that what we're doing?" The whip snapped out, wrapping around his arm, yanking him to her. Rhea's feet connected with his body, "Or are we just flirting?"

"Flirting?!" He demanded, dragging himself from the wall. Their eyes darted up, just as the wall he crashed into crumbled, collapsing into rubble.

"Whoops." They winced together.

"That was your fault." Rhea told him.

"Are you going to blame me for everything?" He questioned with a scowl.

"Hey! You're less likely to get scolded for the property damage." The both glanced around, wincing again at the remnants of the hotel entryway. "Definitely your fault." She nodded, standing up. He stared at her as she brushed herself off. He waltzed towards her.

"You can't blame me for everything." He complained. Behind him the light of the sunrise began to trickle in.

"Shit, is it morning already?!" She gasped. He whirled around. True to her word, sunlight filtered in between the edges of the shattered wall.

"Well would you look at that. Perhaps it was later than I thought when I attacked you." He hummed thoughtfully. Rey's eyes flicked up to the chandelier again. A wicked grin spread across her face then vanished.

"How far up is it? Can you see?" She asked, pushing up to her toes, as if trying to see. The Noah took a few steps forward, complying with her request. Green eyes jumped to the chandelier. "Well?" He took another step. "Sever." She ordered swiping her hand causing Harlequin to slice through the chain holding the chandelier hanging over the Noah. His head snapped up at the sound.

"Lethal and cruel," he grinned at her, "but that won't hurt me."

"Oh, I know." She smirked back. "That's why I'm doing this." Tendrils burst through the floor wrapping around his legs and feet rooting him to the ground as she snapped her fingers. Harlequin covered the three tier diamond chandelier. His eyes widened as it came crashing down on him.

Tyki felt the moment the wretched innocence slid from his body. Groaning in pain he activated his ability. He dragged himself from the wreckage of the hotel. Every part of his body ached. His pride the most. In his head the memory raged.

"Shut up!" He roared at it, instantaneously the pain flared in his chest, forcing a harsh cough from his throat. "I can't believe she threw a chandelier at me." He growls, pausing to cough again. His body shook violently. "I can't believe I fell for it. I can't believe I lost another piece to her! Fucking hell!" His face contorted into rage. "Now I ever sound like her!"

"Who threw a chandelier at you?" Tyki groaned as Road's voice came from behind him. Coughing harshly he pulled his hand away to find blood in his palm. Clenching it, he winced again at the pain radiating through his body. "Hey!" She whined but he started to walk, as best as he could, away.

"It's none of your business." He grumbled under his breath.

"Tyki~! Share!" Road fussed, flinging herself onto his back with her arms wrapping around his neck.

"Ouff!" He staggered, collapsing to one knee as she knocked his broken ribs around. He pressed a hand to the aching bones, attempting to ease the pain coursing through him. "Get off." He groaned, coughing. "Please get off." He choked out as his coughing fit grew worse. The aching pain turned into a burning pain in his chest. His vision blurred and filled with black spots. Road lept off, rushing forward to catch him as his knees gave out and he pitched forward. Prying his hand away her eyes widened when she saw the blood filling his palm.

"You've punctured a lung!" She panicked upon seeing it. Heaving him to his feet, she did her best to drag him, manifesting her door as close as possible.

With her hands full Road kicked her door open. "Earl! EARL!" She screamed, fulling dragging Tyki, who slumped over her, vision completely gone.

Sheryl came thundering in with the Earl hot on his heels, "Road," he panted, "Darling, what's wrong?" His eyes widened when he saw her desperately trying to keep Tyki upright with little success. "Oh my god! What happened?" He rushed forward taking him from her. Tyki hung entirely limp in Sheryl's grasp.

"He said somebody threw a chandelier at him." Sheryl paused at Road's explanation.

"Well," he blinked a few times, "that's a new one."

"Bring him in here, Sheryl. Quickly!" The Earl ordered motioning to the closet room. Sheryl hauled Tyki in, Road following doggedly at his heel.

"Do you know who?" He questioned as he set Tyki down.

"No," She shook her head with a sigh, "They were already gone. Long gone."

Lero spoke up, "He said her."

* * *

Rhea came to with a groan. White walls surrounded her on all sides. Groaning louder than before she forced herself to sit up. With reckless abandon she began ripping out the tubes that connected to her arm. She tossed them to the floor, her nose wrinkling at them. Throwing the blankets off she shoved her aching body out of the bed.

"Leaving already?" She whirled around from digging around for her jacket. Standing in the doorway, a middle aged doctor with short brown hair and an old pipe beneath a large bushy mustache. She froze as he smiled, turning to the blonde nurse behind him, "Would you please fetch a glass of water. I'm sure she's thirsty."

"As you wish, Doctor." She turned on her heel and left.

"Please return to your bed, Miss Exorcist. You need the rest. You've been asleep for several days." He said as he stepped into the room. Immediately Rhea drew her weapon, falling into a battle ready stance. Harlequin ready to spring into action. The doctor held up his hands in defense. "Woah now! No need for violence. I'm not going to hurt you."

"How did you know what I am? Only akuma call me exorcist." She accused.

"I did not mean to upset you." He slowly sat down in the chair by her bed, hands still held up in surrender. "I merely do not know your name but I've seen that coat before." He motioned with his pipe to where her tattered jacket sat near the trash. "I lost the last one," he sighed sadly, eyes glazing over slightly, "So I saw to you myself." He explained coming out of the memory. "I refuse to see another exorcist die."

"Thank you." A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" The doctor called cheerfully.

The nurse returned with the glass. Smiling, she handed it to Rey, "I put some sugar in it so it will be easier to take your meds!" She chirped happily. Rhea arched an eyebrow but took the glass.

"Thank you." The doctor's brows furrowed but he didn't say anything. The nurse left causing Rhea to stick her finger in the glass. Bringing it to her lips she sucked the liquid from it. Her nose wrinkled. "Inheritance powder. How lovely." The doctor choked.

"What?! No! She wouldn't!" Rhea set the glass down as he protested.

"If it were sugar I'd be able to taste it. Arsenic is tasteless and odorless. She only said she put sugar in it because you can still see flecks of it." Rey tossed the medication into the trash with an easy throw. "No offense but I think I'm going to skip it."

"Why would she..." He started to get up, only to collapse back into the chair.

Rey shrugged, "Who knows. Money, rage, revenge. Hate or I remind her of somebody or something she doesn't want to see or think about. Could also feel that she's releasing me from my tormented life. The possibilities with humans are endless." The doctor shook his head.

"I don't think I want to know what you've been through, for you to speak of that so nonchalantly." He sighed.

"_Oh, if he only knew." _The Voice chuckled.

* * *

Rhea dropped out the window, landing silently on her toes. Her bag tossed over her shoulder, Rhaps fluttering by her shoulder. Her newly vacated hospital room sat silent in the dead of night. No doubt she'd be in trouble the next time she called Komui.

"_Are you running away, Little One?" _The Voice asked.

"No, but you heard Komui. He's sending a legion of finders after me. It doesn't help that they've got several days on me since I crashed. I won't be able to move the way I do and I really have a bad feeling about my brothers being alone for so long. Not to mention I need to call Niko again." She bit her lip as her eyebrows furrowed, "But I've got to get to a place where I won't be seen." Her eyes darted around for any sign of movement. Seeing none she reached out with her Ki.

"_See?" _The Voice told her, "_There's nobody awake at this time of night. Also there's an abandoned house at the end of the road. We passed by it earlier." _Following his directions she slid into the house. Finding a room on the second floor with moonlight spilling in through the window she sat down, spilling one of her belt pouches she shifted through its contents. Pushing aside her herb and spices she dug through the pile of miscellaneous junk.

"Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?!"

"_Calm down, Little One." _The Voice said as she began to throw things over her shoulder. "_I'm sure your brother is fine."_

"Yeah, but you don't know that for sure, besides I have no idea what cut our signal off. Was it My Love or did something happen on his end?" Her nails scraped at the floor as she frantically sifted through.

"_Is that really what you're going to call him?" _The Voice almost cringed.

"Yeah, what of it?" She demanded.

"_I hardly think that's appropriate." _He chastised. "_Perhaps-"_

She cut him off, "Found it!" She raised it high over her head triumphantly.

_"__A broken hairbrush?" _The Voice asked dully. "_I must admit, Little One, I was expecting something a bit more useful. Why do you even have it? You don't brush your hair. It's bad for it." _It explained obtusely.

"It's not mine! Jeez, it's for tracking Niko." Repositioning herself she sat cross legged on the floor. The hairbrush held between her fingers in her lap. Muttering a few words, her eyes lit up white as her vision swam for a moment then cleared. "There you are." She sighed, seeing her younger brother curled up in a huge pile of pillows. "No, you've been hurt." Her eyes zeroed in on the scrapes and bruises all over his pale skin. "Niko, I'm so sorry." She whimpered. He couldn't hear her but she had to say it. Her eyes watered but she forced them down. "We'll find Master soon. I promise." She reached out, brushing her fingers through his hair. Rey sighed when they passed through him. "Soon." She promised as the spell died out.

"_Feel better?"_ He questioned. She nodded, stretching with a yawn. "_You should sleep. Especially if you're going to out run those finders that will most certainly be looking for you." _She shoved the mess of things back into the pouch and curled up on the bed, eyes drifting close before he had even finished speaking. "_Sleep well, Little One," _he grinned, "_you have magnificent things to do."_

* * *

"Why is it that my job never brings me anywhere nice?" Rhea demanded as she stalked towards the falling shambles of the asylum. Windows were broken, shards of glass littered the ground around it. Planks of rotting wood, strewn about with broken bits of the bricks all around. The smell of moss and mildew penetrated Rhea's nose. She wrinkled it as the smell burned. The wind whistled through, the shutters creaking as they swung back and forth, banging horrendously when they hit the wall.

"_Well, doesn't that look lovely?" _The Voice noted sardonically. She shoved it away and stalked into the asylum. Immediately the hair on the back on her neck rose. Her stomach twisted and turned as if somebody were trying to wring it out, pitching like the ocean until she felt nauseated. Eyes watched her from every direction. Energy crackled in the air.

"This isn't innocence." She moved through the silence, her boots avoiding broken and loose tiles. "Innocence doesn't feel like this." She glanced up at Rhaps, noting how closely the golem flew to her. "I think we'd better go. Come on, Rhaps." Turning on her heel she headed back the other way. As the hair on her arms began to stand up she threw the doors open only to hit an invisible wall. "Son of a fucking bitch!" She cursed, rubbing her aching nose.

"_How eloquent." _She flipped The Voice off and stalked back down the hall, yanking her hood up over her head.

"Stay close." She told the golem.

Rhea groaned as she roamed the halls of the asylum with absolutely no luck. She pulled her jacket tighter as if it would war off the unnatural sickening cold of the dead place. She perked up as she rounded a corner, feeling a familiar presence.

"What the fuck is this place?!"

"Having some trouble, My Love~?" She purred, leaning against the wall. The Noah whirled around to face her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She rolled her eyes at his demand, pushing her hood down.

"Pretty sure it's the same thing you're doing."

"I do NOT feel like fighting you for the innocence today." He bemoaned. She smirked at him.

"Well," she drawled, walking over to him, not drawing her innocence at all, "you're in luck." She chirped. "Because this isn't innocence." He blinked at her several times.

"It's not?" She shook her head. "It feels creepy." He argued causing her to roll her eyes again.

"Just because you don't like the way it feels doesn't immediately make it innocence."

He pouted, then grumbled, "Well then what does it make it?" She shook her head with a sigh.

"The Earl really needs to educate you Noah better." She walked past him, not having been down this hallway yet.

"Hey," he jogged after her to catch up, falling into step next to her, "you never answered my question."

"It's magic."

"How do you know what magic is?" He questioned as they rounded another corner, his hands shoved into his coat pockets.

"My Master is a very capable sorcerer. Also," she grinned at him, "I'm a witch."

He snorted, "Don't I know it." She chuckled quietly to herself before stopping. When he started walking right past, she grabbed his arm, freezing him in place. "What-"

"Shh!" She spit harshly, a finger to her lips. Closing her eyes, she tilted her head to the side, leaning slightly towards the corner they'd just come around. He listened too. "Do you hear that?" He nodded. "I think we have company." The sound of something thumping against the floor soon split into multiple pairs of feet thundering down the hall. Rhea began backing away from the corner.

"Uuuhhh, do I wanna know what that is?" My Love questioned. Slowly he began to back away with her.

"Well I can't say that I do," She told him, still sliding backwards. "Harlequin, activate." She felt the liquid hum to life on her skin.

The Noah opened his mouth the speak when a monstrous black spider appeared from around the corner. All eight of it's eyes trained on them. All three stood still for a moment before it charged.

"Shadow Warp!" Harlequin covered Rey in an instant, she grabbed the Noah and flew away in a burst of black petals. The spider shrieked and pounded after them. They flew up four flights of stairs before the pair separated, both rolling across the floor in opposite directions as she dropped him. "Ow." She groaned sitting up.

"That hurt! What the hell was that?!" The Noah demanded getting up. Rhea winced seeing the burns on him.

"Whoops, sorry." She apologized. "I kinda forgot that it would hurt you. I might have panicked." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. He walked over and offered her a hand.

"Well, you didn't leave me behind." She accepted the hand and he pulled her to her feet with ease. "Still, what was that?" He asked, brushing dirt and cobwebs from his pants and jacket.

"The spider or the innocence?" She questioned, brushing herself off as well.

"The innocence. Kinda hard to miss the spider. Especially one that's 12 meters tall."

"Shadow Warp allows me to move with a burst of speed. It has its advantages, like when you're fleeing from a 12 meter spider." She smiled cheekily at him. He snorted.

"That's certainly a new one. Never been chased around by a giant spider." The screech echoed through the asylum as the spider appeared again.

"Run!" They fled, with the large pincers snapping at their heels. "Shit, I'm gonna do it again! Hold on!" She grabbed him again and warped away.

"We have to get out of here!" He shouted as he skid, this time ready for the sudden landing with both ending up on their feet.

"I already tried. The building is sealed off! I tried as soon as I got here! We've got to find the sorcerer who's doing this. Kill or defeat him and we'll be able to get out." She paused, "Or I think so." She screamed as the spider fell through the ceiling from the floor above, taking her to the ground as it landed on top of her, the red on it's body reflecting in her eyes. My Love snatched her out from under it and fled.

"Fantastic! How do we do that?" She warped them away again only to land a mere meter away, her gasping for breath. "What was that?!" He demanded.

"You're heavy! Not to mention that your dark matter is probably draining me even more." She hunched over, hands resting against her knees heaving oxygen into her aching lungs.

"No time for that!" He shouted, yanking her down the hall with him. He skid to a stop when the spider appeared before them.

"Watch out!" Her warning came too late and it struck them both. Rhea lay on the ground, eyes hazy as her vision blurred. Across from her the Noah had already succumbed to the blunt force trauma. Heavy footsteps walked towards them, brown boots coming into her sight.

"Good job." A man praised the spider from above her head. She tried to force herself up, arms shaking to support her weight.

"Who are you?" She struggled to get the words from her throat.

"Oh? You're still awake? Oh dear. That won't do." Pulling back he kicked her in the face, turning her world black.

* * *

She came to with a pounding headache and a throbbing pain in her face, particularly her nose and lips. She tried to move but found her entire body immobilized. The Noah, right next to her, still unconscious if the way his head hung against his chest gave any indication, remained motionless.

"Wake up! Wake up!" She struggled to kick him with no luck between the white threats wrapped around her leg and the burning pain shooting through it, like liquid fire in her veins. "Oi! Wake up!" She snapped, jolting him out of whatever dream he'd been having.

"Ugh, where are we?" He groaned, looking around. He tried to pull away but didn't move. "What the hell is this?" He tugged harder but the white strands held fast.

"It's spider silk," the man from before answered, striding in, with the spider skittering in behind him. Rhea made a face at the hulking creature filling the room, the low light catching it's black and red body with a sickening sheen. "It's quite strong. I doubt even you two could pull free."

"Who are you?" The Noah demanded, glaring at him.

"Ah," The man smiled pleasantly, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. "Now that's no way to ask for somebody's name." He tutted. The Noah's face wrinkled as the man scolded him like a child.

"More importantly," Rhea cut in, "what do you want with us?"

"Oh nothing in particular, you lot have just been making quite a bit of noise. I thought it might be fun to see what some of you were like."

"You lot?" They asked together.

"Oooh, that was very intense." He continued to smile at them. "Can you do that automatically or do you need to rehearse?" The both glared at him. His smile broadened. "If I were anyone else I think I'd be intimidated by that look. You both do it very well. Unfortunately for you, to me you just look like children pouting. So unaware of your insignificant place in the world, caught in the web of the spider."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Tyki snarled. The man watched him with an easy smile but deep in his eyes a different emotion hid. He couldn't put his finger on it. His eyes flicked over to Butterfly. He ran them up and down her figure, gauging her injuries. They zeroed in on the blood dripping down her left leg, staining her leather boots.

"Funny, you pay more attention to her, than you do me. I could end you in a moment with only a single thought." Tyki arched an eyebrow at him.

"You carry innocence? If you're an exorcist then why would you attack a comrade?" He questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. He waited for the spider to glow green and for Butterfly to step away, completely free. To say they'd been messing with him. Neither happened.

"No, tell me, Brute, are you really so vain to believe innocence is the only thing that can kill you? How sad for you."

Butterfly cut him off before he could snap at the man, "You still haven't told us who you are and what you want."

"A shame the lady doesn't seem to have any manners either." He cooed, running his fingers down the contour of her cheekbone to her jaw. She jerked out of his touch.

"Giving you my name would imply wanting to see you again, which I can't say that I do. Not a big fan of giant spiders chasing me around in dark abandoned asylums. I could've spent that time better. My idea of a date is a bookstore and a cup of coffee." She drawled, boredom evident in her eyes. The man's smile sharpened at her barbed words.

"Is that so?" He questioned carefully.

"Duh," she rolled her eyes, "that's why I said it."

The man chuckled, "I admire your honesty. So few people these days actually mean what they say or say what they mean. It's quite refreshing. Very well, I am Mateus Cardoso. It's a _pleasure_," he emphasized the word, "to meet you." Tyki arched an eyebrow at that.

"Wish we could say the same." Butterfly interrupted. The man, Mateus, threw back his head and laughed.

"My, my, my, you are quite a bit of fun." He smirked at Tyki, jabbing a thumb in Butterfly's direction. "She's a riot. Is she always like this or am I special?" He hummed, eyes lighting up at the thought of getting special treatment from the girl.

"Not in the slightest." Tyki shot him down. "She's always snippy."

"Aah, too bad." He sighed sadly. "Perhaps in time." He purred. "Now tell me," Mateus grinned, getting right in Tyki's face, "what's it like? Being the Earl's favorite."

Tyki snarled at him, "I don't know what you're implying or what you think you're implying but you better reconsider or you're about to have a very bad day."

"Ah yes," Mateus continued to smile, "I forgot that the Earl doesn't stress education or manners among his thugs. Very well," he shrugged, "I shall put it in layman's terms. What's it like being the Earl's whore? Is he gentle? Is it love making or does he fuck you hard? Tell me, do you like it or do you just close your eyes, whimper silently and wait for it to be over?" Tyki's features twisted as his lips curled back into a snarl.

"You better shut the fuck up right fucking now!"

"Or what?" The sorcerer grinned, "you'll spread your legs for me too? As flattering as that is, I'm not too interested. Though it makes me wonder, are you the family harlot or just the Earl's? Do they take turns or are you loosen enough to take more than one?"

"You son of a bitch! Why don't you-" Mateus cut him off my slapping him across the face.

"That's enough of that! I am getting rather tired of your attitude. I think it could use some adjustments." He waved his hand at the spider, glowing brightly, causing it to stalk forward, focusing on Tyki with a predatory intent.

"You're a sorcerer!" Butterfly exclaimed. He grinned at her.

"I am! I'm so glad you noticed! I was beginning to think you were as hopeless as he. It seems, My Dear, there's still hope for you left. Unfortunately that won't save you." He turned to Tyki and flicked his fingers at the spider causing it to lunge. It's massive grotesque fangs sinking into Tyki's leg. He let out a scream of pain.

"Activate!" The innocence shot out, flinging both man and spider back. Slicing it's mistress free, it turned and cut the Noah free as well. Rey grabbed his hand and fled. The Noah staggered, struggling to keep up with her before collapsing to his knees. "We gotta go!" She grabbed him and warped away. Feeling the razor sharp petals slice the spider to ribbons as it tried to catch them again. It screeched in pain.

"Ugh! You useless piece of shit!" Mateus shouted as he incinerated the spider. It shrieked in pain causing Rey to wince.

"I'm sorry." She whispered to it before Harlequin severed it's head and zoomed back to her. She warped them away once again.

* * *

"That fucking, son of a-" Rhea slammed the door shut, glancing around the room that she found herself locked in with a Noah who cursed loudly. She rolled her eyes with a huff upon finding nothing and waited for him to stop.

"Do you know him?" She finally asked.

"Why would I ask his name if I didn't know him?" He demanded.

"Hey! Don't get snippy with me! I'm not the one who sicked a spider on you! Shit that looks bad." She hissed upon seeing the wound. She pulled his leg closer to her.

"What the hell kind of spider gets that big anyway?" He questioned, wincing as she prodded the wound.

"It wasn't natural," she sighed.

"How do you know? Stop touching it!" She shot him a glare when he snapped at her.

"Because as I said before, my Master can use magic. Mateus is a sorcerer. He used magic to enhance it's size, speed, strength, and aggression. Not to mention it's venom."

"Venom?" He asked, watching her eyes dart back and forth as she chewed on her lower lip.

"I think it was a redback." He blinked at her several times causing her to explain. "Judging by the red hourglass on it's stomach I'd say we're dealing with a black widow which happens to be one of the more venomous spiders. The red stripe on the top indicates that it's a redback." He groaned watching as she ripped the leg of his pants up the seam. The two large holes bore deep into the muscle and he swore he could see the bone. The skin all around them burned red.

"So I've got venom coursing through my veins?! Is that what's interfering with my healing ability?" She shrugged.

"Possibly but I doubt it. Could you use your abilities earlier?" He shook his head. "Then Mateus probably did something with magic. He seems to know about us and the war. Did you hear the way he spoke about us? "You lot" It was weird." He nodded.

"Yeah, it was. People aren't supposed to know about my family. It's why I was shocked that you knew what I was." She shot him a cheeky smile causing him to roll his eyes.

"Okay, I think I can get the venom out..." She trailed off.

"But..." He prompted.

She winced, "But it's probably gonna hurt more than anything I've ever done to you." She warned.

"Which is?" When she didn't answer immediately he snapped, "Just spit it out!"

"I can purge the venom but it would mean putting Harlequin directly in your veins."

"What?! How do I know you won't just kill me?"

"You're just going to have to trust me! Just like I'm going to have to trust you when I succumb to it!" He stopped at her words, ignoring the fact that she had yelled at him. Then his eyes widened.

"That's right, your leg, it was bleeding earlier." She dropped her gaze from his.

"When it landed on me. You pulled me out from under it but not quickly enough. It bit me. The venom has been in my system for too long. I can't get rid of it. You just got bit. So if you trust me not to kill you right now then I'll trust you not to kill me when I can't defend myself." She explained. Another shot of searing pain forced his decision.

"Just do it!"

"Okay!" Wincing she drove Harlequin straight into the wound. He screamed again before gritting his teeth. "Talk to me! It'll help. What do you like to do when you're not Noah-ing?" She asked upon hearing his teeth grinding together.

"Noah-ing?" He asked, almost smirking.

"I don't know what to call it!" She snapped, bottom lip sticking out at him. Pain coursed through his system.

"Poker!" He grit out. "I like to play poker." She smiled, her other hand rubbing circles into his skin.

"Me too. We should play sometime."

"I hope you're okay with losing." He actually did smirk this time.

Rhea snorted, "Oh, Sweetheart, I never lose." He rolled his eyes.

"Of course not. We'll see."

"Promise?" She grinned. He nodded, wincing as the emperial liquid slid through his veins, climbing towards his heart. "Stay with me now." She warned as the pain spiked, forcing him to curl in on himself. "What else do you like to do?"

"Read." He choked out.

"Me too. I like Edgar Allen Poe. Have you ever read his work?" He shook his head as his vision went white.

"No, I've never-I've never-i've" His eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, I need you to stay awake! No sleeping!" He groaned at her words.

* * *

Finally Tyki's vision cleared and slowly he sat up. Harlequin sat next to it's mistress. He eyed it carefully, swearing that it watched his every move, then slowly he turned his gaze to Butterfly. She raised her head to look at him.

"Butterfly?" He asked, reaching out for her. Sweat dripping down her, her hair stuck to her skin, her leg appeared to be swelling, the ragged leather of her boots, ripping more at the jagged edge. He winced seeing the bite, looking far worse than his had.

"You're up again? You passed out on me for a while. How do you feel? Any lingering burning pain?" He shook his head and moved closer to her. "We need to move." She stood and swayed as her innocence climbed her form. He jumped to his feet.

"Butterfly, are you...?" He trailed off.

"Fine, just waiting for the room to stop spinning. We need to go." Started towards the door, "I'm-" She collapsed. Tyki dove, just darely catching her before she hit her head. He winced as pain shot through his arm; rolling up his sleeve he found a large burn patch from his wrist to the crook of his elbow.

"What was that?" He questioned, scooping Butterfly up in his arms. "Now, how do I get out of here?" He looked around. The room, clearly a patient's, had only one door and no windows.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Mateus called. Tyki listened carefully for a few moments. Butterfly's flying silver pet, her golem, he realized, hovered by his head, attentively keeping him and it's mistress in view. He eyed the circular red dragon decorating it's face instead of the eye that he recalled her friend's golem having.

"He's a couple floors up, I think." He hissed to it. The golem bobbed up and down. "I suppose that's your version of nodding?" He questioned, arching an eyebrow at it. The golem repeated the action. As Mateus grew close Tyki slipped through the door and out of the room. Running silently he slid to a stop at the front door once more. Shifting Butterfly so she leaned against his shoulder he pressed a finger to the front door. Pulling it back with a hiss, he glared, upon finding that he still could not exit due to the magic field covering the building. "Now what?" He challenged the golem, not that he expected it to answer but it felt weird to not talk to the sentient thing.

"Abata," Tyki's head snapped over to the golem as a seam appeared and split open into a mouth, a deep baritone playing from it, "ura masarakato,"

"What the fuck?" He demanded.

"Barrier Destruction!" Blinding light shot from it's mouth and the magic around the building shattered like glass. Tyki stood, jaw hanging slack, staring at the door. The golem closed it's mouth, full of needle sharp teeth, on his ear causing him to yelp in pain as it tried to drag him and subsequently it's mistress out to safety. Pulling his ear away, ignoring the blood, he ran out, shoving the door open with his shoulder, Butterfly cradled close to his chest.

* * *

Mateus watched the Noah flee, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully. Slowly he turned on his heel, walking passed the spider corpse and down the stairs. Finding no carcass he looked around more.

"Did he take her with him? How unusual. Oh dear, Brute, what will the Millennium Earl and your siblings think when they find out you saved an exorcist's life. Think of the backlash. A pity, I was hoping to play with her some more. Well after I dealt with you." He stopped at the still swinging door, inspecting the scattered pieces of his barrier, "But I suppose," he left the building ignoring the fact that it collapsed as soon as he stepped through the doorway. "Now I have something else to research. Hopefully the wheels will spin again. How did you get out? Hmmm, Brute?" To his left a swirling portal appeared, unfazed he stepped through it, deep in though, uncaring of his change in surroundings until a voice spoke.

"And just where exactly have you been?" Mateus turned around to face the woman addressed him. He glanced up at the hat on her head, the purple flowers decorating the vines that wound around it for a second then back to her face.

"Ah, Viola, how lovely to see you again." He smiled charmingly.

"Mateus," She growled, stepping closer to him. "Where have you been?"

He held up his hands in surrender, "Relax I wasn't messing around with any of our plans, just playing with a few people. Nothing too important. Just an," a devious smile crossed his face, "just an old friend. Yes, we were catching up. I got to meet his girlfriend. Lovely little thing. Able to keep him in line perfectly. I'm quite enamored with her myself." He spoke easily as Viola watched him with an arched brow and her arms crossed over her chest.

"You know," she cut him off, "I allow you to do as you please as long as you pull your weight but right now we are in a very precarious situation, you cannot, CANNOT," She emphasized walking closer, forcing him to step back only for her to continue until his back hit the wall, her finger in his face, "put that in danger because of whatever spat you have with this person. This plan must go off without a hitch, if we lose it, we're done for." He smiled at her.

"Viola, darling, relax. It has nothing to do with the source. I was just messing around with those fools making a mess of the world." Viola sighed at his words, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Please tell me you are not fucking with the Noah, I know you have your issues with them-"

He cut her off, "I DO NOT have "issues" with them," he added air quotes with a roll of his eyes. "I was just playing. You let your little sex dolls play with them and C-" Viola glared and clenched her fist. Mateus' eyes bulged in his head as he choked, pressure constricting his throat, preventing him from breathing. He claws at his throat grasping for something that could not be found. Viola held his gaze steadily.

"Do NOT interrupt me. Don't tell me you've forgotten, Mateus. I made you. I saved your life when you were dying in the streets like a rat. I took you in, fed you, clothed you, and taught you. I cultivated that spark in you. If you think even for a moment that if you interfere with my plans I will hesitate to stomp that spark out, you are sorely mistaken. You are here to serve me. Do **not **forget your place. I gave you this life, I can take it away." The magic flickered away and he fell to his knees gasping for air. She smiled as she walked by his kneeling, panting form. "It's so nice to have you home, Mateus. Don't forget to join us for dinner."

* * *

"Our names won't be remembered

If we die like trampled flowers

I refused to be forgotten

Written off as less than worthless."

― Unknown

* * *

**Well, there you go! More names of these mysterious people who know about the war but don't seem interested in it. What do you think the source is? Is it real? I'm curious on what you think of Viola and Mateus especially. Rey and Tyki had their first 'have to deal with this together so we can kill each other later' moment. Hope you all enjoyed! Next time on Shades of Gray, Rey and Zack meet up and attend a party! Until next time, Cheshire's out~!**


	9. Bad Company

**So I'm not dead, yeah. I'm sorry...? I didn't really mean to take so long. Real Life sucks. Like majorly. Seriously. Just trust me. =.=' Anyway I'm hoping to be back more often. Hopefully I'll be better about updating. Some of my other characters kept waking up and shoving Rey out of the light and then my brain went through a period where it swore it had never seen word before and completely forgot how to write anything at all. =.= Yeah, somebody shoot me. Yule, you do it. Either way I hope you enjoy it, and I might write something short for Rey's birthday. Would you guys like that? It might be fun. Let me know! Anyway onto the reveiws!**

**Dear Alexc1209, Yeah Mateus is just a peach isn't he? Don't worry, he'll get better! Scout's honor! *Crosses fingers behind back* Honest. As for the Earl telling the Noah about magic users. Most people don't know about the war and how bold of your to think that Tyki was listening. He's the king of not knowing what's going on because he's not paying attention, so basically you'll never know if the Earl said anything about them or not. Fun isn't it? Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear Wolfs Child, Thank you so much! I hope to hear more from you! I'd love to hear what your favorite part of the chapter is! Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear WinterYule, Because it's your fault! Obviously. It's always your fault, Dear. You should know this by now. I'll point at you if I want! *Gets special pointer stick out* So Ha! So you think they're a threat, hmmm? Whatever made you think that? Hmm? *innocent* They are quirky. It's one of the things I love about them. Oh? You think Rey is the source? Why do you think that? Enlighten me. I'm very interested to hear why you think this. Niko kinda has this "kick me" sign on his back but it's invisible. It's called Walker Luck. Or the Walker curse. I dunno. *shrugs* Which do you think is better? Yeah, Rey's gonna be upset and worried but that's cuz her little brothers are supremely stupid. But yeah she's gonna squeeze him and you saw what happened to the hairbrush in the memory. She broke it trying to brush the knots out of Niko's hair. Screaming Seaweed Head has any sanity? I thought he was completely insane already? A kiss? You're already asking for a kiss from them? Sweetheart, do you not remember how long it took them last time? These two have such thick heads XD Good luck with that! Rey speaks innuendos like another language. The girl grew up with Cross, have you noticed that he's the reason for a lot of her issues, she knows how to make anything dirty! Rey is definitely trying to embarrass Tyki. It's fun to her. She also wants to see what he looks likes with a blush. With Tyki's thick head? Who knows! Good luck Rey! Tyki definitely deserves the chandelier, besides it made him pretty and sparkley! She was just trying to make him beautiful! Mateus certainly knows how to make an entrance. All eyes on him! It's a must! Yeah, his statement to Tyki certainly got both their attention. Neither really knows what to say. But does he have it out for the Noah or just Tyki? Who's to say? Not me! Noah-ing, yes, Rey is inventing a new language. Kinda does sound like Qin, doesn't she? Well we keep saying the girls would get along great. It's just a sign. Well you'll just have to find out when they play poker, I swear it'll be fun! Tyki's having a rough night but let's be honest, he hasn't got a break since he made the mistake of trying to kill Daisya. So you think Mateus has a crush on Tyki? Hmmm, an interesting thought. Care to share why you think that? Joyd will give his piece, soon, trust me. He's never been one to be quiet, has he? You'll just have to wait and see what they're all up to but feel free to throw out theories! I love 'em! Alright this has taken me way too long to write, *totally wasn't wasting time singing and dancing to Halloween music, not at all* and I can't say anymore. You're just gonna have to wait it out. ;D Enjoy the chapter!**

**Dear 15****th****, My beloved 15****th****! How I have missed you. Considering how late I'm posting chapters I don't think I get to complain about how late you reviews are. You speak of summer heat and my reply comes with talk of Halloween, my favorite holiday! And my crazy spooky music which played while I wrote this chapter. SO yeah, I don't get to whine either. It's fine. I'm just happy to hear from you. I always wait for your review excitedly. I can't wait to hear what you think of this newest chapter! The Earl could totally be the mad hatter. It would be an interesting cast of Alice in Wonderland. Tyki could also be the Mad Hatter but then again with how clueless he is he could be Alice! Wouldn't that be fun? We could put him in her costume! It'd be cute! Sheryl would definitely be the Red Queen. He's just as high strung and insane as she is. She didn't really LET it fall on him more like she intentionally DROPPED it on him. And yeah he deserves it. Can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter! Let me know what your favorite part was! Until next time!**

* * *

"Seek and ye shall find they say,

but they don't say what you'll find."

― The Cheshire Cat

* * *

"If I said I'm sorry would you stop yelling at me?" Rhea asked, holding the phone a good ways away from her her ear.

"NO! Because you're not actually sorry! You vanished from your hospital bed only to reappear in a different one in a different hospital in a different country! Rhea! What happened! Explain right now!" Komui ordered, shouting into the phone. Rey extended her arm to it's full length, hoping to save her hearing.

"I can explain..." she trailed off uneasily, rubbing the back of her head. Her ears perked as she heard another voice on the other end of the phone.

"I wanna-" Komui cut it off.

"No. I'm talking to her right now. You can after-"

"I wanna do it now. Gimme the phone!"

"Stop it!"

"Gimme!" The voice, a girl's, demanded. She could hear the two struggling for the phone. "I said gimme!" The girl grew louder.

"And I said no! Gosh you were so well behaved when you first-ack!" Komui gave a strangled cry and something fell with a crash. Sounded like Komui.

"Hi Big Sister!" Azalea chirped though the phone. Rey struggled to keep her snickers under wraps.

"Azalea, what a surprise!" She grinned, knowing the girl couldn't see her and thus she didn't need to pretend to be angry. "How have you been? Has everyone been nice?"

"I'm okay! Everyone's been super nice, well," she dragged the L out, "most everyone. There's been one or two people who haven't." In the background Komui gave a pained yelp causing Rey to wince with a smile. "I really miss you, Big Sister. Cacao misses you too. I can tell. When are you coming home?" She whined. Rey winced again.

"I don't know, Zay," she sighed. "We can't come home until we find Master and neither Al nor I have had any luck with that."

"Master? Who's that?" Azalea asked childishly. Komui could be heard groaning in the background. Azalea stomped her foot and the sound stopped. Rey snickered to herself

Master was the man who took Allen and I in and he raised us. Taught us to fight and survive and all kinds of other things." Rhea did her best to skip the trauma of growing up with one Cross Marian.

"Will he train me to fight like you?" Azalea chirped.

"NO!" She jumped when Rhea shouted. Rey bit her lip, wincing at her own volume. "No, Azalea, you're not a fighter. You aren't here to fight. You don't need to and even if you were I would never give you to Master. I'd give you to Klaud, she's much nicer. She'd be better for you." She explained rubbing the back of her head, mussing up her plaits.

"Who's Klaud?" Azalea questioned, bottom lip still quivering from being yelled at.

"You shouldn't call General Nyne by her first name!" Komui choked out from the floor.

"She's another general. I'm sorry Azalea, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just a little preoccupied today. I've got a lot on my mind. It's been a," she paused to rethink her wording for a second, "It's just taking me a bit longer to get use to traveling alone. That's all."

"I thought Big Brother was with you too!" Azalea cried into the phone, stomping on Komui again when he made a mad scramble for the phone, clawing at the cord and her ankles.

"I, uh, I haven't caught up to him yet. Like I've said there's been a few, uh,"

"_Yes do tell, Little One, how are you going to explain your lateness due to the fact that you simply could not resist playing a game of life or death with a Noah merely because he's cute?" _The Voice inquired, a smug grin spread across his face.

"It's not just because he's cute! He amuses me! Nothing about this has anything to do with him being cute!" She snapped back.

"Who's cute, Big Sister?" Azalea asked, tilting her head to the side.

Rhea winced, "_I said that out loud, didn't I?"_

_"__Yep!" _The Voice seemed unconcerned.

"I, er, wasn't talking to you, Azalea. This guy," she glared at the voice, "is bothering me about the phone. I gotta go so I can deal with him. Continue to be a good girl for me and please stop stepping on Komui's head. He's got enough problems as it is. Let's not add to them. Be good. Love you." She hung up before Komui could wrestle the phone away from the little girl and start questioning her. She groaned into her hands.

_"__Masterfully done. They'll never suspect a thing." _The Voice said before yelping when Rhea shoved it into a dark corner to pout. Rey dragged her hands down her face with a groan as she left the phone hung on the wall.

"Now what do I do?"

_"__Well I suggest you get going. You've been wasting time here for three days. Get off your butt and move. Now is not the time to-" _Rhaps beeped cutting it off. She nodded at the golem to put it through.

"Yeah?" She questioned weakly.

"So I was right," Niko's voice came through the golem. "You are crashing."

"I slept for three days waiting for that venom to run it's course why am I still so damn tired?" Rey demands.

"Because you aren't taking care of yourself before and after your highs!" He snapped. "You wasted all your energy chasing around Pretty Boy and now you don't have any left to take care of yourself!"

"That's not true!" She argued, walking down the dirt road to get her things, before anything akuma or Order found her, from the hotel she'd been staying at. "I crashed after the fight, then I got better then I ended up in the asylum with the lunatic with a giant fucking spider! The Noah just happened to be there! I didn't go looking for him! I was there because it was supposed to be haunted! I was looking for akuma or innocence."

"Yet you don't argue that you think he's pretty!" Niko pointed out smugly.

"Cuz he is!" Rey threw her hands up in exasperation. "If you saw him you'd say he was ridiculously pretty too!"

"I wouldn't die because of it!" He shot back.

"Oh wow. Thanks. I didn't know I was dead. It's really cool that Rhaps died with me and came to the other side. I really thought Hell would have more fire and brimstone than this. I'm very underwhelmed. I'll have to speak to management about that." Rey answered sarcastically. "I didn't die you little fuck. Not this time anyway." She grunted, ignoring the people who leapt and dove out of her way as she stalked down the road. "The spider venom really did a number on me. Definitely gonna scar where it bit me. Just lovely, another one."

"Seriously, Rey, are you okay?" Niko asked, his rage from before vanishing as soon as she mentioned the wound.

"Yeah I'm fine. For all his faults the Noah seems to have some kind of honor code. He pulled me from the asylum after I passed out. He didn't even abandon me on the road. Carried me to the nearest hospital and checked me in. I'm probably still alive because he told them what kind of spider it was. Thank you by the way." She smiled wryly. "If you weren't you, I wouldn't have known what spider that was."

"Well then, you're welcome. Happy to be of service." Niko chuckled. "All kidding aside, Rey, please be more careful. My random babbling about whatever I'm reading won't always save you. You need to take better care of yourself. I can't do anything to help you and neither can Allen if he's not with you. What do you know about this guy?"

"Which one?" She sighed. "The Noah or the spider guy?" She asked.

"Both. I'll look into them."

"No." She shook her head. "Stay away from the Noah. I'll deal with him. But if you wanna look into spider boy I wouldn't mind. His name is Mateus Cardoso. Be careful. He's a powerful sorcerer and so far he seems to have a liking for not getting his hands dirty though he did kick me in the face." She rubbed her nose at the memory, almost as if it were aching again just by talking about it.

"He what?" Niko asked slowly.

"When the spider didn't completely knock me out, he kicked me in the face. It's mostly healed now. The doctors even got it back in place. You can't tell it ever broke."

"Noted." He answered calmly.

"Niko? What was that?"

"What was what?" He asked innocently.

"Niko," she warned.

"Who's Niko?" Rey shrieked, whirled around, taking the person behind her to the ground. She pinned them down, forearm pressed against their throat. "Rhea! Rhea! Rhea! Letgo! Leggo please!" Gregory writhed on the ground beneath her arm, frantically tapping on it. "Rhea, please." Upon registering her friend, she let go and offered her hand to him.

"Sorry, you scared me." Taking a few gasping breaths he grabbed her hand and let her pull him to his feet.

"Jeez, Rhea. Remind me not to scare you again. That was insane! I didn't even see you move."

"I really am sorry, Gregory." He brushed the dirt from his jacket and then pulled her into a hug. She did her best not to stiffen. Slowly she hugged him back.

"I should know better than to sneak up on you." He pulled away, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Imagine what would happen to me if I had done it to Master Kanda." He chuckled then continued, "Anyway Komui sent us," her head whipped around to see the legion of finders behind them, causing her to wince, "to accompany you until we find the rest of your group."

_"__Good luck ditching them." _The Voice commented. She shoved it away.

"Well then," She let her face twist into one of horror, "Oh my gods! What's that!" She pointed behind him.

"What?!" Gregory and the finders whirled around only to see nothing. Rey bolted. "There's nothing the-HEY!" He ran after her. She could hear them clambering after her. Ducking into the hotel she grabbed her bags and jumped out the window, leaving them to run around looking for her. She vanished into the forest.

* * *

"Hello?" Komui picked up the phone, surprised to be hearing from anybody so early.

"Chief," Gregory sighed into the phone, "We lost her." Komui's head hit the desk with a groan.

"Of course you did."

* * *

Rey ran through the forest, ducking branches and dodging brambles. Leaping over a river in a single graceful bound she flipped the voice off in her head as she fled.

Rey sighed as she slipped into the city, eyes darting around for any finders. Sighing with relief she made her way down the street.

"Hello little exorcist!" Rey whirled around to find a hoard of akuma hovering over her. "Ready to die?!" It cheered.

"All work," Rhea complained pulling Harlequin from her skin. "And no play. Activate!" The liquid innocence sliced through the cackling monster. Akuma spilled from human corpses all around her. "So much for getting any sleep tonight." She groaned, rolling away from the barrage of bullets. Sweeping in low, Harlequin sliding up her left arm. "That's not nearly good enough!" She sang, leaping into the air, swinging her arm at the legion of akuma. Thousands of feathers flew through the air, shooting them down. "Shadowed Frenzy!" As soon as they fell more took their place. "Great." She rolled her eyes, "I'm gonna be here all night." Clenching her fingers she pulled the feathers back to her spearing through the akuma as they flew back. More akuma spilled out. "There must be a Noah around. Or a piece of innocence. Or both. Ah, fuck." She complained. "Guess I'll have to look around." Harlequin condensed into an axe.

"Rhea!" She whirled around, spinning her axe in her hand, severing the head of another akuma. Her eyes landed on Zack who made his way towards her, slicing back and forth. "Rhea! Come this way!" He waved her towards him. She rushed over to the roofs, leaping from one to another with ease.

"Zack! What are you doing here?" She asked as they ducked beneath his shield just in time to dodge the assault of bullets. He pulled her closer, tucking her in tightly under his chin, bracing his shield with both arms.

"Same as you. Almost dying." He chuckled, as Harlequin swept the gas away.

"Excuse you," Rey pushed away from him, "I'm not almost dying." She tossed a braid over her shoulder. "I'm too good for that."

He scoffed at her, "Yeah, sure, Rey. Whatever you say." They glanced all around at the akuma surrounding them.

"Let's do this." She sighed. Her eyes went wide when his hand closed around her wrist and he bolted. Rhea staggered, stumbling after him, struggling to keep up with the sudden harsh pace, forcing herself to get her legs beneath her. "Zack! Zack! Slow down! Why are we running?" She shouted as he dragged her over rooftops. They dropped into an alley. Rhea slowly stood with a groan. "Damn it! Zack! That hurt!" She whirled around to face him, hands clenched tightly into fists. "And since when the hell do you run away?!" What the fuck!" She demanded. Zack slapped a hand over her mouth and yanked her against the wall. Her eyes darted up to see the akuma flying overhead looking for them. As soon as they were gone she sank her teeth into his hand, biting down hard.

"Ow! Fuck! What the hell, Rhea?!" He clutched his bleeding hand to his chest while Rey picked bits of his fabric gloves from her teeth.

_"__I think you may have gotten ahead of yourself, Little One." _The Voice warns. She ignores it.

"Are you kidding me? You ran away! You never run away!" She shouted back.

"I have my reasons!" He turned away from her as he spoke.

"Well then share them! Enlighten me!" Her eyebrows furrowed as he wrapped his arms around himself, causing his shoulders to hunch in. She took several steps towards him. "I can't help you if you don't let me in! Don't just go dragging me around like that! Communication is key!" She rested her hand on his shoulder.

Whirling around he shouted in her face, "They killed my teammates!" Rhea blinked a couple times, almost taking a step back.

"All of them?" She asked quietly.

"No," He shook his head, "Suman is missing, but the others. They're gone. I was on a side mission. I was only gone for a couple of days! I swear! How are they gone already?" His shoulders shook.

"Oh, Zack," She ran her hand softly along his face. He leaned into her touch. Gently she pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tightly as if she would disappear just as his comrades had.

"I need to find who did it. There bodies were still there, so it had to be a Noah. Akuma don't leave corpses behind, right? Well, not corpses without wounds. Just like General Yeager." Her eyes went wide and she didn't speak for a moment.

"Lord Millennium is in search of you, loo-" Rey crushed the song before it could play any longer in her mind.

_"__Are you alright, Little One? You aren't still upset about that are you?" _The Voice questioned in an odd tone, curiosity plainly evident. She shoved it back in the corner, ignoring the splash of him falling in the fountain.

"I'm sorry, I truly am. Do you have any leads?" She questioned. "I'll help you find them." She promised as he pulled back.

"The akuma I was fighting before I saw you said there were Noah here. I need to talk to them."

"Zack," she hesitated, "that's not a good idea. They aren't exactly nice and I doubt any of them will just come out and tell you which one of them killed your teammates."

"I know but I have to try! I owe them that much." He snapped, slamming a clenched fist against the brick wall. It won't do them any good anyway, she thought sourly.

"I'm just sayin', don't get ahead of yourself. Let's take this slowly. What brought you to this city? Also," she trailed off sheepishly, mussing her braids as she rubbed the back of her head, "where are we? What city is this?"

Zack gave a short chuckle, "Really, Rhea? How did you miss that? We're in Rome!"

"Ah," She laughed, "So I suppose we should do as the Romans do?" He rolled his eyes.

"It's late. Let's go." He threw an arm around her shoulders, "I've got a hotel room. You can stay with me." He tugged her along down the road, towards the hotel.

"Oh, I see how it is," she grinned up at him wickedly, "trying to take advantage of me? Steal my innocence?" Zack choked and then turned dark red. Rey threw back her head, cackling like a hyena before she took off running, leaving him behind.

"Rhea!" He shouted, rushing after her.

* * *

"Zack," Rhea asked as they ran through the streets, thousands of akuma chasing them, "where exactly did you get this information?" A bullet exploded above her head causing her to yank her hood up to block out the noxious gas. Ducking her head she bolted out of the cloud with him hot on her heels.

"I head a group of akuma talking about it! I thought it would be a good place to start!" He shouted back.

"Yeah sure! That's a great idea! Let's just go up to the Millennium Earl himself and ask "Excuse me, a moment of your time if you don't mind, your Earliness. If you would be so kind as to direct us to which one of your lousy, useless, uncouth, second-rate, deplorable degenerates of a family killed Zack's teammates? I do hope you wouldn't mind if we killed them in retaliation? Thank you so very much for your time and the information. Good day to you, Sir." I'm sure he'd be happy to help us!" She snapped as they skidded around another corner.

"Well we wouldn't approach him like this! Obviously we'd go in disguise!" He shouted over the gunfire. Whirling around she swung her arm at the legion of akuma. Thousands of feathers flew through the air, shooting them down.

"Shadowed Frenzy!" She skewered more as she summoned the feathers back to her.

"Activate! Dragonslayer!" Zack shouted. His sword extended it's segments, each burning with fire. "Heavenly Rage!" He swung his sword in a sweeping arc. Lava spewed from it, incinerating the akuma. Another wave replaced the fallen demons. "It's not enough! What about the other one of yours? The second release! What's it's called again? Jimmy? Gemma?" Rey rolled her eyes at him but looked around, her senses filled with the overwhelming amount of presences she could sense.

She shook her head, "No, too many people. It's a bad idea."

"Why? What are you-" He started but she cut him off.

"Besides, it's just gonna take a bit of work. Not afraid to get your hands dirty, are ya?" She teased with a smile. "How about we make a bit of fun out of it? Whoever slays more akuma gets dinner free for a week from the loser?" Zack grinned back at her.

"Oh you're on!" They skidded to a stop, turning to face the akuma rushing towards them.

"Ready, set, go!" She pushed Zack away, sending him staggering backwards as she lunged at the nearest akuma, Harlequin slicing through it, like butter. "One!" Spinning around on the heel of her boot, serving the head of another. "Two!"

"Rhea! That's cheating!" Zack scrambled to his feet, rushing to keep up with her.

"Thirty!" She cheered, shooting him a cheeky grin.

"You little witch!"

"You have no idea!" Harlequin crushed another cluster of akuma causing her to smirk, "Fifty!"

* * *

"You cheated." Zack grumbled as they climbed the fire escape to the roof.

"The only rule was that I had to vanquish more akuma than you. Which I did. Need I remind you of the score? Fif-" He cut her off.

"No, no, no, no. I don't need you to rub it in anymore. I've had quite enough thank you." Rey took in a deep breath as she stepped onto the roof, letting the cool night air refresh her lungs and mind.

"I love nights like this. Look at the stars!" She pointed up to the flickering lights, bouncing on her toes.

Zack groaned as he pulled himself up and then looked around, "There's no moon tonight." Rey rolled her eyes at him but walked to the edge. Across the road, a large mansion towered over the rest of the street. Music and laughter could be heard through the enormous stained glass window. The light shining through it spread patterns of dancing lights all across the cobblestone.

"You're missing the beauty of the stars and the night!" She whined.

"They're so far away." Zack squinted at the stars. Rey sighed with a shake of her head but turned her focus back to the window. "So why are we here?" He asked turning his gaze to the window as well.

She turned to him, "How the hell do you expect to find the Earl?" She asked.

"I don't know but he wouldn't be here! Nobody would invite that crazy hat wearing rabbit-" Rey interrupted him.

"I thought Lavi was the rabbit?" She questioned. He glared at her.

"My point is," he stressed, "He's a demonic looking freak! Nobody, nobody, never mind a noble would invite HIM to a party!" Rey stared at him for a moment, trying to process his words.

"Zack! He doesn't actually look like that!" She groaned, smacking her forehead.

"I thought he was a demon from hell!" Zack shouted.

"He's-no." She sighed, running her fingers through her bangs.

"Then what the hell is he?!" He demanded.

"He's a man, Just like you." Zack's face scrunched up at her words. "Oh don't you make that face at me! What did you expect?! Congratulations! It's a hellspawn! You must be so proud!"

"Hehehehe! I found you~!" Both whirled around to find an akuma with long spidery limbs climbing up the side of the building. Others followed it, pouring up over the sides until the roof overflowed with them.

"More work." Zack complained.

"Well, if you hadn't been bitching," Rey started but yelped and dove out of the way. Landing on the her hands and springs back to her feet. "Harlequin, activate!" The liquid innocence slid off her left arm, striking through the nearest akuma. "Damn it!" She snapped, vaulting away again.

"There's so many!" Zack shouted.

"We don't have time for this! They'll alert him to our presence!" She shouted. "Shadowed Frenzy!" The feathers flew through the air, spearing through the akuma. "He'll leave!"

"I won't let him!" Zack shouted. His head whipped back and forth between the akuma hoards and the stained glass window. His frantic eyes landed on her and she froze.

"Zack, now is not the time to panic and do something stupid-" She warned, eyes widening when he charged towards her. "Zack! Zack! Zack! No! NO no no no no no no no no-" Too late! Zack grabbed her by the back of her jacket and flung her. Rey screamed as she flew through the air, across the street and straight into the window.

Screams filled the air as glass rained down and Rey fell until she hit something hard. Instincts kicked in and she rolled onto her feet. Bright light immediately assaulted her eyes. Blinking blearily she held up a hand to block the light. A loud screech pierced her ears.

"That window was over 300 years old!" Rey turned towards the voice shrieking at her. Something squished under her boot. Looking down she found rapidly melting gelato. Wincing at it she quickly lifted her foot out of the bowl, glaring at the goo sticking to her boot. "Are you ever listening to me?" Rey suddenly perked up, feeling a familiar humming in her soul. Her eyes snapped up. From beneath her hood, metallic green met gold. She grinned widely and waggles her fingers at him. His eyes go wide as he recognizes her, his cigarette falling from his lips. Her eyes drift to the two men standing next to him, one with long hair and a monocle stood stark still, his mouth hanging open. The other man, an older gentleman with slicked back dark hair and piercing gold eyes. Her eyes met his and her's widened.

_"__The Earl! He is here! Zack was right!"_

_"__Better not tell him that." _The Voice chuckled. She nodded in agreement. As if summoned by her thoughts, Zack came crashing in after her. _"__Ah, there's the monkey!" _The voice chirped happily. She kicked in into the corner.

"Graceful as always." She greeted as he crashed into the table.

"I meant to do that." He answered as he scrambled to her feet.

"Oh yes, definitely a good plan. Just throw me through a window. Into food, I might add." She complained, looking down at her clothes. "Ugh! You're washing my clothes." She looked at it again. "By hand." She groaned upon seeing the sticky pink goo on her boots. "You're scrubbing my boots with your damn toothbrush!"

"Oh come on!" He rolled his eyes at her, "It's not that bad." She glared then paused for a moment. And then another.

Zack watched as she tilted her head to the side for a moment, eyes fluttering closed. She stayed still. Stiller than a statue he began to wonder if she'd died standing up. He crept towards her slowly, his wet leather boots screeching against the nice wooden table the pair currently stood on.

"Uh, R-" He started to call out to her but before he could her eyes snapped open as if she'd been electrocuted.

"Do you feel that?" She asked, swiveling her head around, clearly trying to find the origin. Zack stilled, eyes darting around through he didn't turn away from her. His eyes searched the crowd of nobles continuing to stare at them and suddenly became aware of their situation.

"You mean all the people staring at us?" He questioned with an uncertain shrug.

Rey rolled her eyes with a pained scoff, "Of course you don't! How stupid of me." She groaned and turned on her heels as she hissed under her breath just loud enough for him to hear, "It's innocence. There's some in this room." She glanced around, eyes lingering on the Noah for a moment too long, drawing Zack's gaze to them as well, "Somewhere."

Before Zack could question her any further the wall that the window had been installed imploded. Akuma flooded in.

"Damn it!" Zack cursed, drawing Dragonslayer.

"Activate!" Both innocences sprang to life. Harlequin shooting off Rhea's extended left arm, hurtling towards the akuma. Rey leapt forward, swinging her left arm around like a windmill, Harlequin shooting up in spikes, skewering the akuma from the ground as she brought her arm up. As she swung it back down the innocence slammed the akuma into more and then the ground. Spinning on her toes, Harlequin following it's mistress, turning into a whirlwind. The akuma screamed and clawed at the walls, tables, and floor as they struggled to escape from it only to be sliced through by Zack. Dragonslayer burned through them, leaving steaming hulls all around them.

"Of course when we're looking for something they show up!" Zack whined, severing the head from another akuma, not even bothering to listening to what it had to say.

"Aren't we always looking for something?" She grinned at him cheekily as her innocence snapped back to her, shearing through another line of akuma.

"Besides trouble! And that's only YOU that goes looking for trouble!" Zack chided her, ducking under a barrage of bullets. His head snapped over, eyes widening as the bullets went hurtling towards the crowd of nobles trapped and cowering in the room with them. "The peo-" The words died on his lips as a black wall materialized between the nobles and the bullets.

"Hmmpf!" Rey snorted at him, yanking the wall back. Gracefully she leapt, twirling, through it while a hole opened up around Zack. He stumbled through, dropping to one knee as it swept over him. Landing on her feet, Rey twisted to face the hoard, the innocence following her hands as she wrapped them around, enveloping the akuma within Harlequin, leaving no place to escape. Smirking she clenched her fists, crushing the akuma into dust. "Deactivate." Harlequin flew back to her and wound up her extended left arm until it settled into place. Turning back to the crowd her eyes flicked over them, searching for the feeling once more. She ignored the Noah staring at her.

"What are we looking at?" Zack asked, leaning over her shoulder to whisper in her ear as he sheathed Dragonslayer. She nudged him back with her shoulder, giving her room to breathe. Closing her eyes she reached out with her KI. She arched an eyebrow as she probed each aura. Just like the Earl and Love the man with the monocle held a small black cross in his aura, though larger than his brother's. She recognized him as the minister she'd helped, then robbed, in Portugal. She tucked that information away for later. A fun conversation to be had for sure. Or potential blackmail. The possibilities were endless, really. A bright light caught her attention and she turned to it. A middle aged woman with her chocolate brown hair pinned back bore it. The green light of it twinkled catching her eye. They snapped open.

"Found it!" She took off.

"Found what?!" Zack shouted after her.

"YOU!" Three level two akuma shouted bursting in causing the room to freeze again. Zack and Rey recognized them from the other day.

"Uh, a little behind, aren't ya?" Rey mocked dryly. Her eyes darted over to see all three Noah sweatdrop at the three. "Take care of this." She told Zack before running down the table again.

"Yeah sure." Zack drew his weapon. "I'll fight the akuma while you look for whatever shiny thing has caught your attention this time." He grumbled. Rey rolled her eyes at it but ignored him, focusing on the woman, creeping away. Her feet thundered against the table rattling it and sending food and dishes crashing to the floor.

"Hey, you! Come'ere!" She shouted.

"No! Stay away!" The woman scrambled away, heels sliding and tripping over her long evening gown. "You can't have my necklace!" Leaping from the table to the wall to the chandelier, her legs wrapped around it, allowing her to hang upside down and snatch the necklace from around the woman's neck with ease. Letting go of the chandelier she landed in a crouch on the table.

"A necklace?! Really?" Zack demanded, shoving Dragonslayer between the last akuma's seven eyes.

"Idiot!" Rey snapped. "It's innocence." She showed him the necklace.

His eyes widened when he saw it and said, "Ooooh! Okay, whoops. My bad." He shrugged, setting Dragonslayer against his shoulder.

"Let's go!" Rhea told him, eyeing the Noah over his shoulder one last time.

"Right!" He nodded.

"Wait! Stop! Thief!" The woman shouted as they bolted down the tables. "That's mine!"

"Well now it's a possession of the church. We kindly thank you for your very thoughtful and generous donation!" Rey shouted back at her. Then she shot Zack a cheeky smile over her shoulder. "Besides possession is nine tenths of the law."

"Since when do you care about the law?" Zack snorted as they ran down the table. Rey skidded to a stop at the edge of it.

"Why did we go this way?" Zack demanded. "It's a dead end!"

Rey grinned at him, "Nope!" Her eyes flicked to the window several meters above her head.

"NO!" Zack shouted but did it too late. Rey jumped and landed hard on the end of the table sending Zack flying through the air and out through the window. The table clattered to the ground and Rey landed on it once more, teetering on the edge of it.

"Karma's a bitch." She smirked, "And so am I." Leaping from the table she landed on Dragonslayer which had embedded itself into the wall when she flung Zack out. Grabbing it she vaulted out the broken window with both pieces of innocence and a grin.

The room stood entirely quiet. Nobody knowing what to do. Then the woman's whose necklace had been taken threw open the doors shouting something about the police.

* * *

"Well," Sheryl started, as he adjusted his bow tie, "that was, unexpected?" He finished. "Anyone know what just happened?" He finally asked.

"It appears the exorcists are moving." The Earl hummed, his thoughts on the hooded exorcists. She'd grown.

"How do you think they knew? About the innocence?" Tyki asked, pulling a fresh cigarette from his pack. He fiddled with his matches, almost succeeding in appearing uninterested.

"There's more to the girl than meets the eye." The Earl warned, drifting back to when their eyes had met. She recognized him. He knew it. Just not how. "If you, either of you," he said, eyes darting between the brothers on either side of him, "encounter her, be cautious. I believe there is something she knows that she's not telling."

"And the boy?" Sheryl asked curiously.

"What about him?" Tyki snorted striking his match and lighting the cigarette. "Clearly he's an imbecile. Couldn't even tell there was innocence. Nothing to fear."

"I don't think we should fear the girl either. Small thing like that." Sheryl looked back over his shoulder. Tyki averted his eyes. A single brow lifted wondering what that could've been about.

"The size of the exorcist doesn't matter. Nor the innocence. Each has it's own power and the ability to grow into a lethal opponent. Don't forget it." The Earl chastised them both.

"Road is tiny and yet oh so deadly." Tyki pointed out.

"Aaaah! My beloved Road! She's so small and cute! I love her so!" Sheryl shrieked, clutching his face between his hands.

"Yes, Sheryl, we know." Tyki sighed, turning his gaze to the direction the exorcists had gone. He could faintly smell her. The spices mixed with coffee that made up her unmistakable scent. He wrinkled his nose at the heavy muddy smell of the boy mixed with it. In the back of his mind the memory called for blood but he shushed it. Not tonight, he told it.

"Should we go after them?" Sheryl asked, looking after them as well, in the wrong direction but Tyki wouldn't tell him. The mere image of Butterfly bent and twisted like a broken toy made him wrinkle his nose and fight the snarl pulling at his lips. Wrong. Completely wrong. She deserved to die softly, her heart beating slower and slower until it ceased entirely. Her grass green eyes would blink in time with the beating of her heart until they too opened for the last time and then froze. They would remain forever unmoving. She deserved a peaceful death.

"Not tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. Tyki-pon, you have yet to complete your missions, correct?" The Earl questioned, turning to him.

"Master," He groaned, "please stop calling me that." He sighed when the Earl ignored him. "Yes, I'm still looking for several people. In particular, Allen Walker evades me. Whether he knows and is doing it on purpose or I merely have yet to find him is unknown. I'll keep looking as I continue East." Tyki reported.

"You'll find them. They can't hide forever." The Earl answered easily, waving his hand as if it weren't a problem. "However I do want you to keep an eye out for the girl. Don't go looking for her but be on the lookout for her. After all, she's been trained by THAT man. There's no telling what she'll do." The Earl muttered to himself as he walked away tapping his finger against his chin. Sheryl and Tyki stopped and exchanged glances, both wondering who the Earl could be talking about.

* * *

"The Earl wasn't there!" Zack complained, pacing back and forth in the hotel room. Rey shook her head from her place on the edge of the bed.

"Perhaps that's best. Like I said, we can't just walk up and begin questioning him." She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to argue, "Even if we wore disguises he'd know we were at least on the side of the Order otherwise we wouldn't care about who killed them or even that they were killed and he no doubt keeps track of everyone on his side. We'll find out who did it. You just need to have some patience. I know it's not fun but it's necessary."

"Well I don't like it, Rhea." He snapped sitting down with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't say you did."

* * *

Rey sighed as she pulled her hood tighter. Her eyes darting around as she climbed higher into the mountains grumbling about finders and trains. Her eyes widened and she turned to Rhaps.

"Oh my gods! Rhaps!" She sobbed, "I've become Master! I don't wanna be Master!" She sobbed more as she trekked through the forest growing on the mountain side. Stopping as she came to a small town with a large resort built into the side of the mountain behind it. Her eyes darted around, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Slowly she walked into town, her eyes flicking all around. Feeling the presence she sighed. "Why don't you come on out?" Then her lips quirked up, "No need to hide in the shadows. I don't bite." She paused for a second, "Much." A shark like grin spread across her features for a moment then vanished as something writhed along her skin. Red crept in at the edge of her vision as they slunk from the shadows but Rey didn't move.

"Good evening, Miss. We've been looking for you."

* * *

Tyki trudged up the hill, no longer caring about his posture or any of the other rubbish that Sheryl insisted on. He sighed in relief upon seeing the outcrop of buildings just beyond the edge of the forest he'd been dragging himself through for the past day and a half. Eyes narrowed as the last line of trees fell away and the outskirts of the small town came into view.

Eyes glanced around, taking in the surroundings. Houses of brick and wood evenly spaced out, all climbing the mountain side; the uneven foundations of them, the vines growing over the brick and the rot consuming the wood. Despite everything, nothing moved. Slowly gold eyes closed, listening.

Dead. Silent.

Tyki arched an eyebrow at that as he slowly made his way into town; head swiveling around as the memory in his head abruptly seized up. He spun around slowly, eyes searching for the danger. He stepped backward only to slip when his shoe slid across the ground in something wet. Turning uneasily, gold eyes widened as he took in the scene before him.

Bodies filled the street. Blood-soaked robes clung to the corpses, stray organs, ripped out, strewn across the cobblestone. Dismembered limbs flung in different directions, broken bones jutted out from the skin, burned and flayed skin hung from the carcasses. One man's entire face burned from his skull, white bone speckled with ash and soot. A lone eyeball rolled by, the optic nerve trailing after it. Black sludge dripped from every orifice of every corpse. Tilting his head to the side he stepped closer, wrinkling his nose when the blood seeped into his shoes. Shedding one glove Tyki pressed two fingers to the skin of the closest cadaver. Still warm. Glancing up he found bloody footprints leading away from the scene and towards the large building farthest away. His eyes flicked up to the smoke coming from the chimney. A smirk pulled at his lips as he straightened up, stepping over the bodies, and headed in that direction. Company sounded delightful.

* * *

Stepping into the empty resort, Tyki closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Exotic spices and coffee filled his nose causing him to move towards it. A fire roared merrily in the fireplace as he stepped into the room, a lone figure sitting on the couch in front of it. Inhaling once more he grinned.

"Quite the mess down there in town, wouldn't you say, Butterfly?" She turned, watching him over her shoulder, the fire casting her in shadows like a fine evening gown. Her boots sat by the fire, the leather in different states of dryness.

"I don't recall inviting you in." He chuckled as he removed his hat, setting it on the coat hanger along with his jacket, setting it on the hook next to the one holding her exorcist coat.

"How rude. I've been walking all day-" She cut him off.

"And I haven't? Trust me. My day has been worse." She scowled at him causing him to laugh more.

"Anything to do with the massacre that seems to have occurred in town," he crossed the floor in easy steps until he stood at the end of the couch she had sprawled herself across, "or perhaps that friend of yours?" His eyes slid to meet hers which narrowed at him.

"Zack has nothing to do with this." She watched his every movement. Yanking her feet back with a startled squeak when he settled on the couch, mere centimeters from crushing them. Glaring she planted them in his lap. He shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I merely asked. No need to get snippy. Still I do have to wonder what could have possibly caused that scene down in town. Certainly not you." He snorted, eyeing her out the corner of his eye, seemingly unperturbed by her feet now in his lap. Instead he found himself amused by the fact of each toenail being daintily painted a deep mahogany. "Cute." He commented then returned to his previous thought. "After all, you exorcists aren't capable of killing innocents."

Butterfly snorted, rather unladylike, then laughed before speaking, "Who told you that rubbish? That's nothing more than propaganda spread by the Vatican. Anyway it was their own fault. They thought it was a good idea to jump me. However innocent they were not. Hardly people really. Just CROWS." She shrugged, waving him off. "I take it from the fact that you've sat down and taken off your coat, you're aware there's no innocence here."

He nodded, "I stopped because I'm tired of walking. This is the first town I've seen for quite a ways. I guess most people don't travel up the mountains like this." He hummed, tracing patterns along her ankles. To his delight she squirmed in her spot. "Does that tickle?" He mocked. She kicked him in the ribs in response. He groaned but laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Yeah, I got tired of walking but in the long run it's easier to go up and over the mountain than to walk around it." She agreed, slumping farther into the couch, stretching her legs across his lap with a sigh.

"Wore yourself out with your little temper tantrum?" He hummed. Suddenly he felt her foot under his chin. Tyki let her turn his head to face her.

"My Love," A chill ran down his spine and even the memory paused in it's thrashing at the purr, "Meddle not in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup." Her leg dropped back down to it's former place while he just stared at her. Butterfly didn't move from her spot by the fire, didn't even look at him. Merely gazed into the burning embers as if they held all the secrets in the world. He vaguely wondered if he should leave her be. Instead he shook that thought away and called her name. She snapped to attention. Her vivid eyes meeting his. For a moment he saw the universe in them, then she blinked and it vanished, just as quickly as it had come. She hummed in response to him calling her name.

"So there's no innocence and both of us are too tired to fight and really there's no reason to, now what?" She hummed again in response to his question. He made a face an flicked her toe. "That's not an answer."

"Rude! I was thinking." She pouted at him for a moment before a sly grin spread across her face, "However I do recall you owing me a game of poker. We could always do that."

Rey didn't move nor help as Love began to rearrange the sitting room of the resort they'd taken over. He pushed her couch until it sat perpendicular to the fire instead of facing it. A table set in front of her and another couch across from her. He settled down and reached into his suit vest only to freeze.

"Oh dear, it seems I forgot that I no longer have a deck." Rey arched an eyebrow at him.

"Quite a bit of work," she gestured around to the rearranged room, "to go to, only to back out." She smirked as he glared.

"I'm not backing out. I merely forgot." He shot back. Rey missed the heat radiating from him.

"Lucky for us," she continued to smirk, "I also carry a deck." She reached into one of her pouches and pulled her worn deck from the bag. Keeping her head ducked she whispered softly to it, allowing the illusion to settle over it. Setting a perfectly identical and intact deck on the table she pushed it towards him. "Feel free to examine it and make sure all the cards are there, though," she shrugged her bare shoulders at him, something dark on her left shoulder catching his eye, "nothing up my sleeve." His eyes darted back and forth between her and the deck as he flipped through, counting each card and checking each suit, making sure there were no doubles or missing cards. Satisfied he set the deck back in the middle of the table.

"I assume the owner gets to shuffle." He said, though it sounded more like a question to her. She smiled.

"Of course not. That would be bad manners. Guests always shuffle. Feel free, unless you'd prefer that I shuffle." He quirked an eyebrow at her but picked up the deck. She watched him carefully, noting each and every card that vanished up his sleeves. Every nick, bend, and crease of them, telling her which cards he kept, content to count cards for now. She leaned back, watching him, feeling her skin start to prick and slither. She frowned at it though pushing the thought away when he slid the cards across the table to her. She hummed thoughtfully as she looked at the cards, then turned her gaze to his. Eyeing them carefully she resisted a smirk. Only the king of hearts, which she found rather ironic, had a nick in the left top corner. Pair that with the card only two spaces over being bent in half meant he also held the Jack of of hearts. Thinking for a moment, she glanced back down at her own hand. Settling her gaze on the Queen of clubs she set the seven of hearts next to it and tossed the others into the discard pile.

"Three cards, please." She concentrated on the deck. Slowly the top card changed, a small smudge of dirt on the right bottom corner appeared when she had finished.

Tyki watched Butterfly closely. She didn't move yet something kept catching his eye. She seemed focused on the deck, too bad for her, he'd already pulled all the good cards from it. Tucked all away until he needed them. She moved and his eyes snapped up to her but she remained in the same place as before, eyes concentrated on the deck. Maybe hoping to catch him. He looked at her bare shoulders as he pulled three cards from the top of the deck, their suit and numbers inconsequential. Nothing she pulled would beat the royal flush he had, or, well, would have. He just needed the ten and the Queen, both up his sleeve. He placed two of his cards on the discard pile and slid the next two down. Butterfly picked up her new cards.

Call!" He didn't look at his cards only grinned at her.

"Sure thing, Butterfly." They set them down at the same time.

"Four of a kind! Queens!" His eyes snapped wide as he glanced down. "Which," she had the audacity to smirk at him, "beats your two pairs of kings and aces." Sure enough he had the ace and king of spaces instead of the queen and ten of hearts. "So," she drawled, sweeping the money towards her, something dark slithered across her fingers as she did so, "do you wanna deal again or shall I?" He grit his teeth for a moment before pushing it away. A mistake on his end had been a lucky break for her. It would NOT happen again.

* * *

"Call!" Rey grinned, watching as the Noah grinned back, though his right eye twitched just a bit.

"Flush, two, eight, Jack, ace, five of diamonds."

"Not bad," Rey admitted, "But not good enough to beat my full house. Sevens over kings."

"Damn it!" My Love tossed the cards at her before dropping his head to the table with a groan and a thud. Rey's grin grew as she shuffled the deck, tossing the cards back and forth as she went. Incorporating fancy tricks with her long deft fingers. "One more hand!" He demanded, eyes snapping up to meet hers.

"Well now, My Love it appears that you are out of gifts for me." He scowled at her wording, and his losing. "Unless you plan on handing over that lovely pair of underwear you've got on and *continuing your travels naked. Frankly I'll be quite amused if you do," a sly look replaced the maddening grin that pulled at her full lips. "Though I suppose you could always wager something else and I'll let you keep your boxers."

"The next piece of innocence is yours. I won't even fight you for it. How about that Bu-" He hadn't even fished before she cut him off.

"No. That suggestion is worthless. You see," The dark thing on her arm zipped away, "I don't need that kind of a deal. You've yet to prove that you're capable of taking a piece of innocence from me while I have already done it so no," her eyes burned like fire, "I don't think I'll waste all this revenue on such a useless wager." He sat stunned, too stunned to be offended. "However it's possible that I have an idea, unless you'd just like to call it quits and cut your losses." She taunts. He arched an eyebrow at her, millions of thought swirling in his head. For a moment it looked as if he'd started to recoil then stopped himself. She hummed in amusement at the thought.

"And what would that be, exactly?" He asked slowly.

"A patch of skin."

"What?"

"A patch of skin." Rey repeated just as serenely as before. "If you win this round I'll give everything back plus the money I've been betting but if you lose I get to do whatever I please to this patch of skin on your body, remove it, draw on it, poke it repeatedly. Anything I please."

"That's a very odd idea."

"A regular patch of skin would go pretty decently on the black market. There's no telling how much I'd get for yours. Not to mention that you heal faster than anyone else I've seen. Who knows what secrets could be unlocked from it. What magic pulled and wrung out?"

"What a lovely thought." He drawled. Somewhere in the room the clock rang out, chiming three times. Both winced and Rey covered a yawn. She her best to ignore the small smirk on his face. "Oh, I am SO sorry, am I keeping you up?" Like the mature adult Rey knew herself to be, she kicked him in the shin.

"Don't change the subject," She chastised leaning in, setting her arms on the table, "are you in or are you out?" When he didn't answer immediately she flashed him a wicked grin. "If you're scared, feel free to back out, My Love." His eyes narrowed as she purred his nickname.

"You're on. Deal the cards already, Butterfly."

"As you wish."

Tyki's eye visibly twitched as he stared at Butterfly's royal flush of spades then slowly raised his eyes to her shit eating grin. She didn't even try to hide the smile. Cursing loudly he flung his cards away and collapsed on the table, head hung in his hands.

"How?" He whimpered as she collected all the cards and put them away.

"Oh Love," she tutted, shaking her head with a smile, "a magician never reveals their secrets."

"Yes, yes," he groaned waving her off, "I know, I know, you're a witch. Believe me, I know." He looked up as she grabbed her bag from the floor. "I suppose now is as good a time as any for you to cut a piece of my skin off." She shook her head.

"Come now, Love. I said that was just an option. Get some sleep tonight. We'll talk about your payment tomorrow. I wouldn't run if I were you though, I suppose you could try. Good night~!" She sang, vanishing up the sitars. Tyki shuddered at the glint in her eye.

* * *

"Why are we here?" Tyki asked as he followed Butterfly through the dark and damp streets. Having decided his pride couldn't take any more humiliation and fully believing she'd hunt him down to the ends of the world he stayed the night and now walked to his own doom. Just as the memory began to kick up a fuss the scene in the town appeared in his mind. The vacant black goo filled eyes staring right through him and straight into the memory struck it silent.

"Just because I've decided to leave the patch of skin that I now own on your body doesn't mean that I won't do anything with it. I think that you could use a little color in your skin." She winked flirtatiously over her shoulder. Tyki paused, looking down at his umber skin and then arched an eyebrow at her.

"Color?" He jogged to catch up to her until she abruptly stopped at some hole in the wall. Smiling she held the door open for him.

"After you." Frowning at the reverse chivalry he stepped in.

"You know, I'm not going to run away." He told her. Her smile broadened.

"I know."

"How can I help you?" A man of average height with broad shoulders stepped into the tiny room. His brown eyes light up in delight beneath his bushy eyebrows. "Bella!" He rushed forward, right by Tyki to envelope Butterfly in a hug. She laughs and hugs him back.

"It's good to see you again!"

"I have missed you Bella! How's that layabout of yours?" He chuckled swinging her around a few times before finally setting her back on her feet. "Ah! You wear the coat now! I see you've made an exorcist out of yourself! Congratulations!"

"Indeed. Unfortunately Master is still the same. Currently looking for him AGAIN." She complained while the man patted her shoulder sympathetically. Tyki watched the scene, blinking slowly, trying to ignore the tightening of his fists and chest. He eyed the door carefully, gauging the number of steps to it and how quietly he could open and close it even though he'd said he wouldn't run away, he found the idea awfully tempting. "This is my friend! He's in the market for some art and I told him you were the best in the business!" Tyki snapped his attention back to the conversation and Butterfly's words. This man is an artist? He wondered. Looks more like a sailor to me. He thought, eyeing the tattoos that covered his arms, shoulders and vanished beneath his dirty while sleeveless shirt.

"Aah, it's not often I get a gentleman in the market. Most are too prissy." He eyed Tyki up and down. "What kind are you looking for?" Tyki opened his mouth to respond but Butterfly beat him to it.

"Actually, I get to pick today, he owes me but we'll be going with a **special**." Tyki scowled at her but didn't argue.

"Aaaah, Bella, playing poker again?" He chuckles loudly, something glinting in his eye. "Well come on back. Where will it be?"

"His back." Butterfly grabbed his sleeve and dragged him along.

"Huh?" Tyki barely managed to stutter before he found himself pushed into a backwards chair.

"Alright, take off your jacket, vest, and shirt while Bella and I discuss the design." Butterfly sat down backwards in a chair facing him.

Crossing her arms over the back of it she rested her head in them and spoke, making direct eye contact with him, "Don't worry. Fillip is the best in the business. I won't leave you either. You can even hold my hand if you want."

"Business?" Tyki demanded, setting his clothes gently down on a shelf and reluctantly sat in the chair, facing her. To answer his question, Butterfly pulled her jacket open, revealing a line of four crows flying along her collarbone away from her heart and towards her shoulder, with a sharp smile. Tyki's eyes went wide now that he finally realized what she would do with his skin. Only one thought went through his mind as Fillip and Butterfly murmured and whispered to each other about the design, the wicked smile never leaving her face.

Sheryl is going to kill me.

* * *

She knows

That it's

Impossible

To tell a

Wolf

From a

Woman

If she keeps her

chin up and her

Teeth

Clean

* * *

**SO who saw that coming? What do you think Tyki's tattoo will be? Something funny? Something embarrassing? Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Who's got 'em? Let me know! I'm curious to see if anyone picks up Rey's little prank on Tyki. More importantly what do you think happened in town? That was my favorite scene but it was so difficult to write! Tell me how I did and how I can improve! Next time! Road and Rey come face to face and Noah and Exorcist! Until then, Cheshire's out~! **


End file.
